Wrecked
by Kadi219
Summary: [Raydor/Flynn] A ringing telephone in the middle of the night can be a parent's worst nightmare.
1. Chapter 1

**Wrecked**

 **by Kadi**

 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** It's not my sandbox, I simply enjoy playing in it.

 **A/N:** Special thanks to my beta **deenikn8** , and the twin **kate04us**. The twin has put up with listening to this idea for almost a year. I'm finally writing it down.

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 **Chapter 1**

He wasn't aware of the hour, but Andy did not believe that he had been asleep for very long. It was a thought that was immediately pushed from his mind when he moved to reach for the ringing cell phone, which he identified as the source of his interrupted slumber. He grunted at the sharp pain in his shoulder, something that was caused by having slept too hard and in one place. Andy swore quietly as he moved again. He forced himself to roll onto his back and reached out blindly for the ringing phone.

The last thing that he remembered before falling asleep was talking to Sharon, and he realized now that he must have been far more exhausted than he thought because the time displayed on the phone put the hour at just past midnight. They had lain down at a quarter to nine, the both of them tired after a long day and even longer week. As he thought about that, Andy glanced beside him. Sharon had not even moved. She was out completely, and he was not surprised. She was laying on her side, and while her back was to him, he knew that she had an arm wrapped around her pillow and her face tucked into it. They never knew how much of a respite they would get after the end of a case, which was why, tired as they both were, they had forgone their plans for the evening and gone to bed just after dinner. Rest had been the most sought after activity of the evening.

Andy scrubbed a hand over his face as he answered the phone. Damn but that made him feel old. It was a terribly sad day when he was more excited about taking a beautiful woman to bed to actually _sleep_ than any other activity that his mind could conjure up. To make it worse, they had caught this case right in the middle of Emily's visit. She didn't get away from New York very often outside of the holidays, but this visit had been a few months in the planning. Sharon had been talking about nothing else for the last few weeks. Andy knew that part of the reason that she was so wiped out was because she had made a point to spend as much time with Emily as she could, despite the case that had interrupted their plans.

It was over now, and Emily would still be in town for a few more days. That was another reason that they had decided to call it an early night. Sharon wanted to spend the day with her daughter and planned to start early. A phone call in the middle of the night never boded well, though, and even if it was Charlie, and not his partner, Andy had to question why the hell his son was calling so late. By the time he was grunting out a tired and rasping, "Hello," Andy had managed to remember that Charlie was pulling some extra shifts and was probably on duty. If he knew Charlie, his son had just forgotten the hour.

"Dad."

Charlie's voice was grim and serious. There was a lot of noise in the background. There were running truck engines and other machinery. The hairs on the back of Andy's neck stood on end at the sound. He sat straighter in the bed. "Charlie. It's late son, is everything okay?"

"No." Charlie sighed. He scrubbed a hand over his face. "It's really not. Listen, Dad, um… are you with Sharon tonight?"

His son wasn't exactly fond of this new relationship. It wasn't Sharon that he had a problem with, but Charlie seemed to have an issue with the entire idea of his father getting to start over with another family. It was a tenuous situation. Sharon told him to ride it out. She said that Charlie would get used to the idea. He just needed to get to know her better. For a moment Andy was tempted to lie and say that he was alone. Whatever reason Charlie had for calling this late had to be an important one. He didn't want his son to feel uncomfortable talking to him. The only problem with that idea was the churning in his gut. It told Andy that something wasn't right.

"Yeah, I am," he said instead. "She's still asleep. I have time to talk. What's going on, son?"

Charlie's jaw clenched. He turned where he stood and his gaze swept the scene behind him. "Wake her up," he said gravely. Charlie let a hand rest against his hip. His head bowed. "Dad." He sighed again. "Dammit. Shit, I hate this job sometimes."

Andy felt something in side of him shift. He looked at the woman beside him. She was still asleep, in spite of the disturbance of the call. Andy ran a hand through his hair. Charlie wasn't calling to talk. He was calling with news, and from the sound of it, it wasn't the kind of news that either of them wanted. "Who?" He asked carefully.

This wasn't usually part of his job description. It was his job to patch-up and transport. Rarely did he have to deal with families. Delivering this kind of news was left to the well-trained expertise of others. This was a little different, though. Charlie knew the people involved. "There was a wreck out on Santa Monica Boulevard. It was Sharon's kids. From what the cops on scene could tell, a car veered into their lane. They couldn't get over, so the guy that was driving, um, the boyfriend. What's his name? Gus? He hit the breaks. The car behind them didn't notice. They got hit and it…" Charlie hated this part, he really did. He shifted where he stood. "Dammit. The car got spun around into the other lane, another one hit it; we've got a couple of cars involved, and there are several injuries. Rusty and Gus are okay for the most part. Cuts and bruises, Rusty might have a broken arm. They're on their way to Cedars now. You should take Sharon down there to meet them."

Andy's jaw was clenched so tightly that it hurt. He gripped the phone in his hand. His teeth ground together. For a moment he couldn't speak. He could barely even breathe. There was more. Rusty and Gus had not been alone tonight. They had gone to a movie. Emily had gone with them. The plan was dinner and a movie, and whatever else they might have wanted to do tonight, Andy didn't know. "What else?" No matter how he said it or when it wouldn't be any easier, but they needed to get it over with. Andy needed to know what they would be facing, and what he would be telling Sharon when he woke her up.

Charlie had been a paramedic for almost ten years. He had seen a lot of terrible stuff in that time. Accident scenes like this one were the ones that he hated the most. Inevitably there would be casualties. They already had at least one dead on scene. He exhaled quietly. "She's pinned. They're trying to get her out now. They were going to take the boys to St. Vincent's, but as soon as they get Emily out of the car they're air lifting her to Cedars. I thought it might…" He broke off for a moment with a silent curse. "I thought it might be easier if everyone was in the same place." There was nothing at all about this that would be easy.

The engines in the background, the machines that were running, the sound made Andy grimace. That would be the fire trucks, probably the ambulances. Beneath the familiar thrum of those motors he could hear the cranking of the _jaws_ as they worked at cutting through metal. "Charlie," he spoke quietly, but with purpose. "How bad is it?" He needed to know. Sharon would want answers. It would be better to give her as many facts as he could.

Several moments of near silence followed that question. Only the sound of the engines and machines filled the line. Charlie knew that his father would understand when he started talking; he just didn't know how to begin or how to really describe it. He didn't want to be too coarse about it, but Charlie was really trying to keep himself separated from the scene. It was the only way to survive it. "Front passenger. Rusty was riding in the back. When the car hit the median it rolled. The front is pretty messed up. It's pretty bad," he said finally. "Look, dad, I should get back there. I just thought it would be better if I called you directly instead of one of those idiots from Traffic dropping by Sharon's place." He cursed quietly. "That's what I hate about working down here now. Some of the cops in this town are just morons. They put that kid through hell. Gus, the one that was driving; they made him do a field sobriety and then he had to blow a breathalyzer." Charlie ran a hand over his face again. He hated working night shift, but he was saving up for a new car. He had picked up the extra shifts for the money. "There was a bottle of wine or something in the car. None of them were drinking," he added. "Rusty said that his sister got it for Sharon. Either way, the kid passed the test."

"Son of a bitch." Andy pinched the bridge of his nose. So it had been a pretty messed up night all the way around, and they still didn't know anything about Emily. Having Rusty and Gus already on their way to the hospital might be the only thing that kept Sharon from going directly to the scene. It would still be a tossup. "Okay. I'll take care of it. Listen, Charlie, let me know as soon as you have more on Em, okay?"

"Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Yeah, I can do that. Dad, it really doesn't look good," he said again, and wanted to make sure that his meaning was clear.

"I understand." He wished to hell that he didn't. Andy could recall having worked a number of accidents himself. He was able to picture the scene entirely too well. "Charlie…" he paused. Andy sighed and shook his head, despite the fact that his son couldn't see it. "Thanks for telling me. You're right. It's a lot better than a call from one of those idiots in traffic."

He didn't really know what to say to that. Charlie shook his head, but his dad couldn't see it. That was the problem with phone calls. "I'll talk to you later," he said. "Look, tell Sharon I won't leave until we get Emily out. I'll stay with her."

"I'm sure that she will appreciate that." As much as she might appreciate anything after he filled her in. Andy looked down when he heard her sigh. She hummed quietly and rolled on to her back. She was waking up. Andy ended the call and put the phone down. He scrubbed a hand over his face again. Beside him Sharon was stretching. Her eyes blinked open and she looked up at him. He was about to turn her world on its end, but first he took a moment to memorize how she looked. Sleep mussed, tired, but there was a light in her eyes. Andy dreaded watching that fade.

"Not another one already?" Her voice was still thick with sleep. She sat up in the bed and pushed her hair back. They had just finished one case, and she wanted to spend the next few days with Emily without the interruptions. Depending on the nature of the case she might still be able to take the vacation days that she had planned, the previous case had not really allowed that. It was too high profile and extensive.

"No." He reached over and laid a hand on her leg. "That wasn't work." Andy stroked her thigh through the blanket. He took a breath and let it out slowly before he reached for her hand. "It was Charlie. There was an accident…"

Phone calls in the middle of the night usually meant a new case in their line of work, but as a mother she was also perfectly aware of the fact that a ringing telephone could herald bad news. There were words that could stop the heart or freeze the world on its axis. Sharon wasn't sure how much she actually heard after the word _accident_ passed his lips. Her world seemed to narrow. It was as if watching everything through a tunnel.

They rose quickly and began throwing on clothes. She wanted to go directly to the accident scene, but Andy was right. If the situation was as terrible as Charlie described, even their badges would not get them close enough to be of any help to Emily. They had to trust that Charlie and his colleagues were doing the best that they could. That wasn't easy. Sharon had never been very good at allowing other people to have control where her children were concerned. No one could care for them the way that she could. No one could protect them, or keep them as safe as she could.

Sharon tried to call both Rusty and Gus a few dozen times after leaving the condo. Neither answered, and she could only conclude that they either didn't have their phones or they were damaged in the accident. She was nervous and fidgeting in the car as Andy drove. Her palms were damp and her heart was racing. She was trying not to imagine the dozen or so scenarios that a lifetime of experience had planted in her mind. How many accidents had she worked while she was in Patrol during those early years of her career? How many accident scenes had she investigated since?

She made Andy give her the facts, all of them, as Charlie had explained them to him. Now her mind was torturing her with them. There were any number of images playing out on a constantly spinning movie reel inside of her head. She wished that she could stop them, but that would only happen when she could lay eyes on her daughter. When they finally arrived at the hospital, Sharon was out of the car before it was properly parked.

She walked briskly across the parking lot and was only vaguely aware of a hand wrapping around hers as she swept into the emergency room. They stopped at the triage desk to get information on the boys. Five minutes worth of Sharon's impatient foot tapping and Andy flashing his badge got them signed in as visitors and beyond the double doors that separated them from the treatment rooms.

The boys were in a small, curtained off cubicle. Andy grabbed the edge of it and pulled it aside when they reached it. They found Rusty sitting on the gurney and Gus in the chair beside it. Rusty's shoulders were hunched and his arm was in a sling. There was a bandage above his left eyebrow and a steri stripped cut along his jaw on the same side. There were bruises and other small cuts, and he felt like one giant bruise, but he straightened immediately the moment that the curtain opened.

" _Rusty_." It took exactly three steps to reach his side. "Oh god." Sharon tipped his chin up with one hand. With the other she swept his hair back from his forehead. The ends of his bangs were stiff and blood stained. Sharon drew a breath and let it out slowly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." He hurt all over, and because he was afraid of taking anything stronger, they had only given him tylenol for the pain. Rusty leaned forward when she pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his good arm around her and held on tightly. "I'm okay, mom. I promise. It looks a lot worse than it is."

Sharon held him for several moments before pulling back. Her hand hovered over his sling-encased arm. " _What_ happened?"

It was then that Gus pushed out of his chair. He had been sitting slumped forward, head in his hands. "This is all my fault," he began, "Rusty wasn't even driving. I am so…"

She cut him off before he could continue. Sharon pulled him into a hug. "As I understand it, the accident was definitely not your fault." When she leaned back she took a moment to let her gaze sweep over the older boy. Like Rusty he had several cuts and bruises but he appeared to be otherwise okay. She looked back and forth between them. "Are you both okay?"

"You'll be glad to know that the airbags worked," Rusty said lamely. He sighed. "We're okay, mom. My arm isn't even that bad. It's broken, but they said it was a clean break. We were just waiting for you to get here."

"We have to do a couple of follow-up CTs in an hour or so," Gus explained to her, "because we both bumped our heads, but no concussion and nothing else is seriously injured. It's just a precaution." He jerked his head toward Rusty's arm. "They put it in a splint until the swelling comes down. The doctor said they would have to wait a day or two before they put it in a cast."

"Broken bones are not _okay_ ," Sharon pushed Rusty's hair back from his forehead again. "But I am glad that you were not more seriously injured."

Andy had his hands in his pockets. He stood beside Sharon and let his gaze wonder over the two boys. "Maybe you can tell us exactly what happened," he suggested. "Charlie didn't have all of the details when he called me."

"I'm not even sure," Gus admitted. "We were on our way back to your place," he said to Sharon. "Rusty and Emily were trying to look something up on his phone, so I volunteered to drive. Everything was fine."

"We were looking for a store that had that wine you like, the one that Emily introduced you to in New York last year," Rusty said. "We went and picked it up, and then we were on our way home."

"But _no one_ was drinking," Gus said immediately.

Andy saw the anger flash in the boy's eyes and nodded. "We know. We trust you, Gus. Believe me, I will be taking that up with the idiots in Traffic."

"Not if I get there first," Sharon muttered. She touched Gus's arm and gave it a squeeze. "I'm very sorry about that. I would like to say that the officers were just doing their jobs, but there is a proper way to—"

"Mom, it's okay." Rusty shook his head and managed a small smile. The last thing that they needed was for her to get started on _the rules_.

When Rusty looked up at him from over Sharon's shoulder, Andy nodded his head. They would let Sharon save that tirade for the idiots in Traffic. "Someone crossed in to your lane?" He asked, prompting Gus to continue.

"Yeah." Gus ran a hand into his hair. "The car in the inside lane drifted toward the middle. I guess he over compensated or something. He came into my lane; almost hit the front of the car. I didn't have anywhere to go so I hit the breaks to make room for him. I don't know what happened after that. I guess the car behind us was too close?" He looked at Rusty for confirmation.

"We got hit from behind," Rusty explained. "Then we were just spinning. Another car hit us and I don't even know what happened. Everything happened pretty fast. We went from spinning to rolling, and then it stopped."

"We ended up in the oncoming lanes," Gus told them. "We got hit again, and the cars were kind of wedged together." He noticed that Sharon had paled as they gave her the run down of the accident. He shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "The doors were stuck and Rusty's seatbelt was jammed. We couldn't get out so we had to wait for help."

"How…" Sharon stopped and cleared her throat. She looked at Rusty and found that she had a difficult time swallowing. "How was your sister?" She asked. Her voice was thick with worry. Neither of them had really mentioned Emily.

Rusty glanced at Gus and then at Andy. He fidgeted with the edge of his sling as he met her gaze. "I don't know," he said quietly. "She was talking for a minute. She wasn't making a lot of sense."

"She thought I was Ricky," Gus said. "She kept saying something about getting the car home and not waking up the Goldsteins' dog." He gestured helplessly. "We didn't know what she meant. She was really out of it, but she was awake." He shrugged. Gus was sure that she had hit her head and he didn't know what that meant.

Sharon pressed her fingers to her lips. She closed her eyes and nodded. That meant Emily probably had a concussion or worse. "Ricky and Emily would take turns _borrowing_ my car during the summer. The Goldsteins' were our neighbors. They both made a science out of sneaking back into the house without waking up the neighbors' dog. Otherwise I might hear them, and know that they had snuck out in the first place. The only problem was that neither of them were ever exactly quiet about sneaking _out_ of the house." Her head tilted and she hummed. They had not heard from Charlie again, but Sharon knew that the longer the extraction took, the worse it would be.

Andy laid his hands against her shoulders and drew her back against him. The waiting would be the hardest part. "He'll call," Andy told her.

"I know." Sharon let him wrap his arms around her. She let it anchor her. "I should call Ricky and Jack, but I don't want to until I have something to tell them." Why should anyone else be stuck in this hell with them.

"No, I agree," Andy said. He just didn't think that Sharon needed to deal with Jack right now. He didn't think that any of them needed that headache. He might be Emily's father, but Andy thought that they all had enough to worry about without adding him to the mix.

"So that's it," Rusty said, "there's nothing we can do? We just have to sit here and wait? Isn't there someone that you can call?"

"I am afraid not." Sharon sighed. "The best thing that we can do for Emily right now is to stay out of everyone's way and not distract them. Charlie said that he would call his father again once she was extracted and on her way here."

"I'm sure that it will be soon," Andy told them. He couldn't imagine it taking too much longer. He had heard the machines in the background when he was talking to Charlie. "But yeah, all we can do is wait." His hands rubbed up and down Sharon's arms as he spoke.

"Sharon, I'm really sorry." Gus shoved his hands into his pockets. The cuts and bruises on the backs of them ached from the action but he ignored it. "I feel like maybe I could have done something different, or if I wasn't even driving…"

"No." She smiled sadly at him. "Gus, it was an accident. No one here blames you. I promise, whatever happens tonight, this was not your fault."

"I've been telling him that," Rusty said. "It doesn't matter if I was driving or if Emily was driving. It probably would have happened anyway, and besides, Gus drives like a grandpa when he drives my car. It's not like we were going too fast or doing anything wrong. You weren't texting, you weren't drinking," he told his boyfriend, "some people are just bad drivers, and anyway, we don't even know why that other car swerved."

Andy recognized the signs of survivor guilt. The boys were more or less unharmed and there was barely a scratch on Gus. He had a couple of cuts, probably from broken glass. There was a bandage wrapped around one forearm, just beneath the elbow. The boys had been lucky. That was just how it happened sometimes. It could have been worse, a lot worse, and from what Charlie had told him, it was. There was a fatality on scene and Emily was in bad shape. He squeezed Sharon's shoulders again. "Listen to them," he said quietly, and knew that Gus would take his word for it. "No one here is at fault. That's why it's called an accident. Okay?"

Gus sighed. He nodded. "Yeah, okay." He didn't feel much better, but he would listen to what they were telling him. These people had been nothing but good to him, and tonight was no exception. He just felt terrible that he was okay and Emily was not. "Look, I'm going to get some air," he decided. "There are really only supposed to be two back here. You okay?" He directed the question at Rusty.

"Yeah." He was worried, but he could tell that Gus was restless. It was better to let him work it out when he was like this.

Sharon turned as Gus left and cast a look at Andy. Her brow arched and when he nodded, she offered a smile. She stepped forward and leaned her hip against the side of the gurney as he followed Gus. She touched Rusty's arm again. "How are you really?" She asked, once they were alone.

Rusty just shook his head at her. "Really okay," he promised. "It's not as bad as it looks," he repeated, and hoped that this time she would believe him.

Andy followed Gus outside. It was a cool night. They could hear the sounds of traffic in the distance, and he knew that both of them were really listening for the sound of an approaching helicopter. They walked around the side of the hospital and found a concrete landscaping ledge to sit on. The smell of stale cigarette smoke still hung in the air. From the butts on the ground, it looked like a popular place for smokers to go, but they ignored it.

He was silent for a few minutes. He just sat there, staring at his boots. Gus had been in worse situations than this one, and could easily count a number of incidents in Afghanistan that had been a lot more frightening. Losing his own sisters was a lot worse than this and all of those situations, but he still felt pretty bad. He scuffed the toe of his boot against the pavement and shook his head. When he glanced up, he found the other man just waiting. "Rusty didn't see Emily. The passenger door on the driver's side was all jammed in, and the other car was in the way, so they took him out the rear window." He stared at Andy for a few moments before he added quietly, "It's bad. I didn't tell him."

His jaw clenched. "Charlie said that it didn't look great." Andy turned his attention to the parking lot. It was silent at this time of night. "He didn't really elaborate."

"The front of the car was all smashed in," Gus told him. "The other car was all folded in on that side. It looked like…" He stopped talking and looked away. He was silent for a moment. His throat was trying to close up. Gus took a breath before trying again. "It looked like she was all folded up in the dash. It was bad," he said again and let his gaze fall back to the pavement beneath his feet.

"Yeah," Andy spoke on a sigh. "That's what I kind of figured too. That's why it's taking so long." He glanced back toward the hospital and shook his head. "Sharon is going to realize that pretty soon. We've both seen our share of accidents. Listen, do me a favor," he looked at Gus again. "She works better with facts, but if she asks you, just say that it was dark and you didn't see a lot. She doesn't need to picture that. You don't have to lie," he said, because they both knew that Sharon would see right through that, "but you don't have to elaborate either. It's bad enough, but she doesn't need all of that in her head."

"I know." Gus agreed with a nod. "It's why I didn't tell Rusty. He doesn't need to know either, and he would feel like he has to tell Sharon. But I thought someone else should know." Gus looked away again. "In case, you know, this night didn't end so well. Someone should be prepared. Maybe…" He felt a little awkward suggesting it, but Gus decided to go ahead. "Maybe you should go ahead and call Ricky. I know that Sharon said she didn't want to worry him yet, but maybe he should already be trying to get here. I know if it was my sister…" He trailed off and shuffled his feet again. "I wish I had known about Marianna sooner," he finished quietly.

"Yeah, I know." Andy stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles. "That's why I called Ricky while Sharon was in the bathroom changing. He's on his way down here. I told him to be careful. He's supposed to check in with me every hour." Andy pulled out his phone and checked the time, since the lighting on that side of the hospital was too dim for him to see his watch. "I should be hearing from him in about another twenty minutes."

"Good." Gus turned his attention to the sky. He still didn't hear anything. "She was laughing. In the car, before the accident, Emily was laughing. Rusty was joking about calling ahead, before we got back to Sharon's place, to make sure we didn't walk in on anything. He was telling Emily that she didn't have to live with it; she didn't know how bad it was. He might have been exaggerating a lot." Gus glanced at Andy and they shared a look. Rusty didn't mind the relationship so much, but he was very vocal about not witnessing certain parts of it. "Emily was promising him that she would go inside first, and if there was anything going on that we shouldn't see, she would take a picture of it and send it to Ricky so that everyone could share the torture." His smile slowly faded. "Then there was just glass, and metal, and screaming."

Andy opened his mouth to reply, but his phone buzzed. He looked down at it. There was a text message from Charlie. _In the air, headed your way. Not good. I'll get there as soon as I can._ Andy stared at his phone for a moment. He drew a slow, measured breath. "Okay," he said finally. "Here we go." He squinted at Gus. "You ready for this?"

He wasn't sure that he was, but he nodded. Gus stood up. "I'll take him, you take her."

"Let's go." Andy didn't know which way that the world was about to tilt, but it would, and it wouldn't be pretty.

 **-TBC-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

After he finished talking to his dad, Charlie placed the phone back into his pocket. He walked back toward the accident scene, slipping surgical gloves onto his hands as he went. He walked around the rear end of the beige Volvo to the passenger side. There were firefighters and paramedics gathered, and the sound of the saws that they were using to cut through the fiberglass and metal of the two vehicles was almost deafening. The back passenger door had been removed. Ideally they would have pulled the other car away, but with a passenger pinned and without knowing exactly how many, if any, of her injuries were affected by the other vehicle, it was simply too dangerous.

Charlie picked up the thick, thermal lined turnout jacket that he had draped across the trunk of the vehicle before stepping away to make his call. He shrugged into the heavy material, standard gear for paramedics working scenes like this, where the saws would throw off sparks and the risk of fire was a real threat. He climbed through the back of the car and into the space where the driver's seat had been. They had already ripped it out to make room for the medics. On the back seat, his large, black medical case was open. Emily had not been unattended while he was gone. Another paramedic had been with her, and they traded off now.

He knelt in the space beside her. Another turnout jacket had been laid over her, protecting her from flying sparks and metal slithers, as well as the coolness of the evening. A small hose was being used as well, to keep the metal damp and cut down on the number of sparks that could be produced as they worked at cutting her out of the car; because of this there was a fine mist in the air too. As he settled beside her Charlie took a moment to check her vitals. "How we doing Princess?" She had been in and out earlier. Charlie didn't like how low her heart rate was. He checked the drip on the IV that was hanging from the rearview mirror. They were giving her fluids to keep her vitals up and replace any volume that might be lost from bleeding that they could not assess in her current state.

"Have a… name…" Emily muttered. She felt light and heavy all at the same time. Everything was so disassociated. She wasn't even entirely sure that she knew where she was anymore. Emily focused on the voice beside her, though, that irritating, grating, sound of a person that she really disliked. Ever since she had met this joker he had been a real ass to everyone. He acted like his dad was doing her mom some kind of huge favor by paying attention to her, and that the rest of them were just inconvenient appendages. They had barely managed to remain civil through the one and only meeting that had included all of the kids from both sides of her mother's relationship.

It wasn't a fun time. Rusty was uncomfortable, Ricky was trying to make everyone get along, and the other one, the daughter, Nicole, was looking like she wished that she had never suggested it. For their part, her mom and Andy had just ignored the bickering and enjoyed themselves anyway. What Emily did not understand was why Nicole kept trying to get all of them on group video calls. It wasn't as if their parents were engaged or anything, and even if they were, they all had their own lives. They could be polite without having to be on friendly terms. Although, to be honest, Emily rather liked Nicole, and they all seemed to get along wonderfully when Charlie wasn't around.

He made her nuts. He seemed to have names for all of them. Rusty was _The Runt_ , Ricky was the _Computer Nerd_ , and depending on his mood she was either _Princess_ or _Dancing Diva_. He had even managed to work Gus into his inability to be respectful of their given nomenclature, _GI Boyfriend_. Emily didn't even want to think about what he called her mother, but at least when any of them were present it was always _The Captain_ , it was the rest of the time that she questioned. Naturally, with all of that, and in all the ways that he made her crazy, Charlie would be here on the worst night of her life.

"Yeah?" Charlie used a penlight to check her pupil reaction. "If you can tell me your name, I won't call you Princess for at least five minutes." She was slurring her words. Her voice was barely audible over the sound of the saws. Floodlights had been set up around the car. Charlie craned his head to see how much progress they had made in cutting away the vehicle that was surrounding her lower body.

"You're a jerk." Emily was keeping her eyes closed as much as possible. They felt heavy anyway, so it was hard to keep them open. "Emily," she said after another minute. "I know my own name, jerkface."

"Jerkface. Wow." Charlie's brows drew together. He shined the penlight toward her legs. "Worked real hard to come up with that one, didn't you Diva?" Charlie waved his hand to get the attention of the guys that were doing the sawing. He motioned for them to stop. "Can we get another light in here?"

"Pass a light," one of them shouted.

Charlie waited for an extra flashlight to be sent in to the car. One of the guys turned it on and extended his arm through the front passenger window. Charlie directed him to shine it at her legs; he leaned forward and directed his gaze downward. He hissed a violent curse. There was a jagged cut running the length of her leg. As they released the pressure that had been placed on it by the weight of the cars pinning her in, it was beginning to bleed… and quite profusely. The only problem was that he couldn't get to it to dress it properly. "Okay guys, that's enough." He waved the light away. Charlie sat back on his haunches again. What they had was a bad situation gone worse. It was almost no-win. The faster they went, the more danger she was in, but if they kept cutting slowly, she might bleed to death. "What do you say we all try and get out of here sometime tonight?" That was his cue for them to get the lead out.

"What is it?" Emily was not so out of it that she couldn't tell that something was really wrong. Her legs were tingling while the rest of her hurt. "What's wrong?" She slurred.

"I'm cold." Charlie lied. He checked her vitals again and didn't like the results that he was getting. "I could be back at the firehouse with the other guys, eating dinner, or taking a nap. Instead I'm out here with you. What's the matter Princess, weren't you getting enough attention at home?"

"I really don't like you," Emily said. She forced her eyes open but couldn't keep them from closing again. "You're a really bad liar too. Tell me," she said. "I deserve to know."

Charlie sighed. "We're in some trouble here, that's all." He shifted where he was kneeling so that he could look into her face. She was in a C-spine collar, so he couldn't exactly turn it toward him. She was pale, and that wasn't a great sign. Her leg wasn't bleeding that bad yet, and that meant that she was bleeding from somewhere else too. "We need to hurry up and get you out of here. That means they are going to start cutting faster. It's going to get a little uncomfortable." He started checking her chest and abdomen again. Her belly was tight and slightly distended. She was bleeding internally. He made a circular motion with this hand, another signal to fire and rescue to pick it up and move more quickly.

"Hm." Emily's eyes fluttered. "Wondered what the hold up was." She shivered. Her teeth were chattering. Even with the heavy coat covering her she was freezing. "I'm tired," she said. "Wake me when you're done."

"I'm afraid not, Princess." Charlie gripped her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. "Come on, Emily. Wake up. We don't have time for napping right now. If I can't nap, neither can you." At this point he was worried about her going into shock. If she passed out, they might not get her back.

"Shut up." She muttered. "You annoy me." Emily closed her eyes again. She was so very tired. She just wanted to sleep. When she woke up she wanted to be far away from where she was, and she wanted her mother to tell her that everything was okay.

"I'm not playing around." Charlie got her attention again. "Wake up, Emily. Come on, stay with me. This is important." He wrapped her tiny wrist in his hand. Her pulse was thready and uneven. "Come on, dammit." He was trying to keep her focused on him, to annoy her if he had to, something to keep her present and conscious.

She wasn't paying a lot of attention to him, not that she ever did. Charlie swore as he kept trying to keep her conscious, and failing that, started trying to keep her alive. Another half an hour passed before enough of the car was cut away that they could risk moving her. They immobilized her torso and laid her seat back as far as it would go. Then they slipped a backboard in and strapped her onto it. They took Emily out the back window, much as they had her brother earlier.

They rushed her away from the accident scene. When they were only minutes from having her extricated they made the call for a helicopter. Emily was loaded into the back of an ambulance so that they could begin stabilizing her while they waited for it to arrive and land.

Stable was really a relative term for the shape that Emily was in when they finally put her on the helicopter. Charlie stood back and watched it take off. His eyes tracked the lights as they rose higher in the night sky. After it turned and headed in the direction of Cedars he reached for his phone again. He sent his dad a quick text to let him know that Emily was on her way. Charlie wouldn't be able to follow immediately, however. There was still work to be done at the accident scene. He just didn't know what he would find when he finally made it there.

It was going to be a long night, however. That much he did know.

The living were removed from the scene first. They had ended up with two fatalities before the accident was completely cleared. After the scene was cleaned up and all of their gear packed, Charlie and his nightshift partner headed to the hospital. In the time that had passed Charlie had not heard anything from his dad or any of the others. That was either good or bad. He was choosing to believe it was good. If Emily was still alive, then she was probably still in surgery, and if she had made it that far, the odds were good. Charlie wasn't a guy who liked to play the odds. There was usually no rhyme or reason to anything that happened in life, but he was really hoping that it all worked out.

The fourth floor surgical waiting room was where Charlie found everyone gathered. He had checked in and filed his incident report before heading up. Charlie walked in to a waiting room that was far more crowded than he expected it to be. After standing in the doorway for a moment, he realized that most of the people present must be his dad's teammates. His gaze swept the room until it landed on his dad.

Charlie found him standing behind a row of chairs near the windows on the far side of the waiting room. He was speaking quietly to another man that Charlie didn't know. He started to take a step forward, but stopped. His brows drew together while he continued to watch. It wasn't necessarily what he was doing, as it was _how_ he was doing it. Sharon was seated in one of the chairs in front of him. She seemed to be staring at absolutely nothing while she waited. His dad's hand was on her shoulder, and while he stood there, Charlie saw her tip her head to the side and lay her cheek against the top of it. Then, without his conversation ever pausing, his dad's thumb lifted and stroked the curve of her cheek. It was completely simple, but it was the absolutely casual nature of it that struck him as odd. Not that it should have, he had seen them together a number of times, but in this setting there was no one for them to convince. There was no one to impress. His dad caught sight of him before he could do more than file it away for later pondering.

Charlie nodded to him and shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked further into the room. He spotted the other two boys too, Rusty and Gus. They didn't look too bad. The kid had his arm in a sling, but Charlie had expected that. He was pretty sure it was broken. He moved over and stepped around the row of chairs. "Hey," he nodded to the other guy too. "How is she doing?"

"Still in surgery." Andy turned his attention to his son. "Uh, Charlie, this is Lieutenant Tao. He works with us." He gestured at the other man with one hand, the other was still resting against Sharon's shoulder. "Julio heard about the accident on the scanner, someone let it slip that the occupants of a beige Volvo were the kids of an LAPD captain. Most of our team started showing up right after the helicopter landed with Emily." After Sanchez had called to check on things he had called the rest of the team.

"Lieutenant," Charlie greeted him. He looked around the room until he spotted the Detective his dad was talking about. Sanchez he knew, had dealt with him on a couple of calls, and of course he knew Provenza and wasn't really all that surprised to see him there. Charlie supposed that he wasn't actually surprised to see any of them there. It would have been the same at LAFD. "What did the doctors say?"

Andy looked down at the top of Sharon's head. He felt her sigh rather heard it. Her hand came up to touch his and their fingers laced together. They didn't know a lot, only that Emily was still in surgery. The waiting was becoming hard. "Her leg is broken," Andy told him, "but it's below the knee, and it's a clean break. The small bone…"

"Fibula," Tao supplied for him. "Because it does not require surgery to treat," he explained, "it should heal within the recommended time frame."

"The break alone wouldn't keep her from dancing again," Andy explained, "but…"

"They are worried about possible nerve damage from the gash in her leg, assuming of course that there is no catastrophic infection to the tissue." Sharon spoke quietly. "All of which will be a completely moot point if they are unable to stop the internal bleeding."

"Yeah," Andy sighed. His thumb stroked the side of her neck. "The internal bleeding is the biggest concern. She had a couple of broken ribs and her spleen was questionable."

"C-spine and head CT, all of that checked out okay?" Charlie looked back and forth between the two of them. "She had a pretty good sized bump on the side of her head, I was worried about that too. She was a little altered when we first arrived, and she was slurring her words later, but she knew who and where she was."

Sharon took a breath and let it out slowly. Her eyes closed for just a moment. She gave Andy's hand a squeeze before she pushed out of the chair and walked around to stand with them. "She has a mild concussion, but all of that checked out." She clasped her hands in front of her and offered him a small smile. "Thank you, Charles, for taking care of them tonight."

He arched a brow at her. There were any number of smart assed comments that he could make, but this was not the time. Charlie shrugged at her instead. "That's my job. Not quite as glamorous as the whole cop gig that the old man has going for him, but I like it."

"Well I, for one, am glad that you do," Sharon told him. "Emily is still alive because of you. Just…" She stopped speaking for a moment. "Know that it is appreciated." Her gaze lifted to Andy. "I am going to step out and try to call Jack again."

Andy's brows drew together in a frown. "Are you sure? I can have a couple of guys go over and drag him down here. If he can't bother to answer his phone, he can get the rude awakening."

"We can save that. If he doesn't answer, I may take you up on it." She shook her head. "I may send Julio to get him. As your partner is fond of saying, _Scary Sanchez_ does come in handy." She touched his arm before she turned away.

Charlie watched her go with a frown. "Who is Jack?"

"The ex-husband," Andy muttered. His lip curled. "Real winner that one." He looked at his son and rolled his eyes. "Emily and Ricky's dad, when he remembers that he is one."

"Rough." Charlie didn't know what else to say. He didn't know a whole lot about any of them. He really hadn't bothered to learn. He was sure that Nicole might have told him all of this at one point, but he doubted that he was listening at the time. His lips pursed and he rocked back on his heels. At least his dad was around, even when they hadn't actually wanted him to be. The old guy had his faults, but he wasn't a complete bastard. "So look," Charlie said, "I can't stay long. I just wanted to check on everything. You'll let me know how it goes?"

"Yeah," Andy nodded slowly. "I'll keep you posted. I don't know how much longer it'll be, but as soon as we know something, I'll give you a call."

"Thanks." Charlie looked around the room. His gaze stopped on Rusty and his boyfriend. "You okay Runt?"

Rusty fought the urge to roll his eyes. "It's not as bad as it looks." He felt like he had been saying that a lot, and he probably had been. He was bruised up and his arm was broken, but he was okay. He was lucky.

"I really hope not," Charlie told him, "because you've looked better."

Andy rolled his eyes at the pair of them. He shot a look at Tao beside him. He had mentioned to the other guys that Sharon's kids and his son weren't on the best of terms, in large part because his son was being a pain in everyone's ass. He chose to ignore it tonight. The two of them shared a look before he shook his head. "Come on, I'll walk you out," he said to Charlie.

Tao watched them go. Afterward, he cast an amused look at Julio who had been standing nearby, but not part of their group. "And there goes the mini-Flynn," he joked.

"You have no idea." Julio couldn't help but laugh. "He has got a mouth on him, and that attitude." He whistled.

"All Flynn," Provenza agreed. "Just when you were hoping that the mold was broken, out pops another one." He nodded slowly while the others laughed. "Although, it could be worse. He could be just like his mother. Now that woman…" He gave them all a pointed look. "Even at her worst, I'm not even sure the Captain was ever _that_ bad."

There was silence as they all expected Rusty to disagree. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. "Oh no, he's right. She's pretty bad. I told Sharon that I am never going to anything where she is at again, ever. Give me Charlie any day. I wondered once, why Andy is the way that he is, and now I know."

"He's not exaggerating," Gus said. "That was…" Even he looked a little shell-shocked by it, and they all knew that he had been through a lot. "There is bitter and then there is just… needs help. Lots of help."

"Of the strong pharmaceutical kind," Rusty agreed, "because I would never wish someone like her on a doctor as good as Doctor Joe."

"Rusty." Buzz was giving him a long look. He was certain, from things that he had heard over the years, that the Lieutenant's ex-wife was not a pleasant woman, but now he believed that they were getting out of hand and exaggerating things quite a bit. "It cannot be that bad," he stated.

"Are you kidding me?" Rusty gave him an incredulous look. "She still gets mad at him about things that happened in the 80s. Some of us were not even born yet in the 80s. Who does that?"

"Ex-wives," Provenza drawled.

"Stop it." Patrice shook her head at all of them. "She is not that bad. When she is away from the two of you," she said of him and his partner, "she's really quite nice."

Provenza cast a disbelieving look at his wife. "What?" His jaw dropped open and his brow furrowed. "When have you ever been around her without us?"

Patrice felt like rolling her eyes at him. "Vicki invited Sharon to lunch. Andy didn't want her to have to go alone so he asked me if I would mind joining them, and then he convinced Sharon to invite me along." She clucked her tongue. "I don't know why that man thought that he was being so clever about it. She saw right through it. The only reason that Sharon went along with it was to keep his blood pressure down..." Patrice paused for a moment. "And to make sure that she had a witness just in case. We actually had a very nice time. We've been out a few times since."

" _What_?" This time it was Provenza and Rusty who could not believe what was happening.

"Why are you so surprised?" Patrice made a face at the two of them. "Honestly. I don't understand the issue here. She's just like Liz, very nice when she isn't around you."

The Lieutenant's face was beginning to turn red. "When have you been out with _Liz_?" The question was almost shouted at her, much to the amusement of their teammates.

"Louie, calm down," Patrice admonished gently. She reached out and gave his shoulder a pat. "You were married to the woman. You have kids with her, and grandkids. Liz just wanted to make sure that we were properly introduced, that's all." She waited for him to start to calm down just a bit before she added, "Oh, and to make sure that I knew that there is a support group. Just in case." She looked at the others and tilted her head in askance. "Did we all know that I am really the sixth wife?"

"Oh yeah," Mike nodded.

"It's a thing," Julio told her. "He and Flynn are definitely an old married couple." His dark eyes were sparkling. "So, the ex-wife likes you, and the girlfriend, but not the partner or the ex-husband?"

"Or Rusty," Amy supplied helpfully.

"I don't get that," the boy in question said. "What did I ever do to her?"

"Oh Rusty." Patrice smiled patiently at him. "You're too easy, honey. You get swept right along into the antics of this one," she hooked a thumb at her husband, "and his partner. I know that you and Andy got off to a little bit of a rough start when he started dating your mother, but let's face it. You are thicker than thieves now, especially if you are causing trouble."

Gus looked at his boyfriend. "She's not wrong," he told him.

Rusty took a moment to think about that. He nodded slowly. "Well, being forced to babysit someone against both of your wills can create very strong bonds."

Buzz rolled his eyes heavenward. "Tell me about it," he muttered.

Andy only walked with Charlie as far as the elevator bank. He said goodbye to him there, in part because he wanted to remain close to the waiting room, but mainly because Sharon was leaning against the wall across from the elevators. Her head was tipped back and her eyes were closed. She was still holding her phone. It was in the hand that was pressed against her chest, just beneath her breasts. Andy stopped just in front of her. "No luck?" He asked quietly, so as not to startle her.

"Define _luck_?" Sharon's eyes fluttered open. She stared at the ceiling for a moment before her gaze lowered. There was anger in her eyes. "I did manage to get beyond Jack's voicemail this time. He answered just long enough to inform me that he is incredibly busy this evening, and to call back tomorrow during his usual business hours." Her jaw clenched for a moment and her eyes flashed. Sharon drew a breath in through her nose and let it out slowly. "As if there was any other reason that I would be calling him at this hour aside from an emergent situation and one involving our children... " The effort to control her emotions was becoming much harder. She was angry, beyond angry if she was honest about it. Sharon was livid. "To make matters worse, I am rather certain that I heard a female laughing in the background." Her lip curled in disdain. "Not that I truly care what Jack does in his own time, that stopped a long time ago, but is he really such an idiot that he thinks that I would be calling him, to what? Reminisce about old times? Interrupt his date? After everything else that he has put our children through, to do this, _now_ of all times… He really is the most unreliable person on the planet."

He watched her rub her lips together before she drew her bottom lip between her teeth. Her eyes were moist, and Andy knew that it wasn't grief. She was worried about Emily; that went without saying. This was definitely anger. It was a brand of fury that bordered on near rage, the kind that Sharon rarely allowed herself to feel and certainly not in front of others. Andy reached for her. He tugged her gently forward and folded his arms around her. When she tucked her face against his neck and gave a shuddering sigh, he wanted to go and find Jack himself and kick his ass all the way to the hospital. There was little that he could say that wouldn't make the situation worse. His feelings about the other man were no secret. "I'm sorry." His hands stroked her back. "We can still send someone over to pick him up," he suggested.

"There is a part of me that doesn't even want to bother," she said. "If Jack does not want to be here, why should I force him to be?" Wasn't that exactly how she had approached their marriage? Jack had chosen to leave and she had chosen to protect herself and her children financially by filing for legal separation. "I just know that if something happens…" Sharon couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence. She turned her face into Andy's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Emily should have her father here," she finished softly.

"I know." His hands continued to stroke her back. "We'll get him here, Sharon. You don't have to worry about that. Emily will have her family around her tonight."

She nodded quietly. Sharon stood in the circle of his arms for just a moment longer before lifting her head and taking a step back. She gave him a small, sad smile. "I will have patrol pick him up, do a formal notification."

"I have a better idea." Andy reached out and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. "Let's go with your earlier suggestion. We can send Julio to do it." He would have Amy go with him, just so that there was an extra witness.

"I should really not approve of that." Sharon folded her lips together again; she couldn't help it, the idea was very appealing. She reached up and tugged on his t-shirt, where his tie would have been. "Tell him to be firm but kind. There is no reason to be unnecessarily cruel."

"Hey." Andy held his hands out and grinned crookedly. "Would any of us do that?" Her brows arched and she gave him a pointed look. "Okay, good point. I will make sure that Julio knows. Firm but kind. Whatever that means." He really hoped that Amy had some idea.

"Oh god." Her head fell forward to rest against his chest. This was a bad idea. If Sharon didn't feel that it was warranted, she would never agree to it. Somehow it seemed better to send one of her team to pick up Jack than involving anyone else in the LAPD. Besides which, Julio could certainly be _effective_.

"Not quite." He pushed his hands into her hair. His fingers massaged her scalp. He bent to kiss the top of her head. "Come on, let's go back in before the kid starts to worry." He also knew that she didn't want to stray too far from the waiting room in case there was news.

"Hm." She hummed. "Yes." Sharon lifted her head and managed a smile, however small. When his arm wrapped around her shoulders she leaned into his side. "As soon as Emily is out of surgery, will you take the boys home?" Sharon stopped just outside the waiting room. She refused to think about what might happen, and decided to focus on a more positive outcome. "I would really rather not have either of them here all night if we can avoid it."

Especially with Jack there, Andy thought, silently acknowledging her unfinished statement. "I can do that." She might expect him to stay with them, but he only intended to be gone as long as it took for him to get the boys settled and come back. "We can talk about it again when she's in recovery. Rusty will probably want to see her before he goes."

"Yes." Sharon agreed that they would cross that bridge when they came to it. "Thank you, Andy." He was taking care of all of them, and in ways that she wasn't even certain that he had recognized yet. Just having him there, and knowing that she could depend on him, lean on him, was more important than any grand gestures or exaggerated displays of compassion.

"Come on." He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Let's go sit down. We'll handle it. All of it," he told her. "Whatever happens."

"Whatever happens," she repeated. Sharon laced her fingers through his and let him pull her back into the waiting room. The answers had to start coming soon. She needed to know how her daughter was; that bright, shining spot of life that she brought in to this world. Sharon needed to be with her. She didn't know how much longer she could stand being surrounded by so much uncertainty, or how much longer she could wait and do nothing while that light slowly faded away.

 **-TBC-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The room was too small, it was too crowded; that was the first thought to cross Sharon's mind. It was more of a cubicle than a room. There were only three walls. The fourth was comprised of a sliding glass door that could be fogged out as needed for patient privacy. Machines surrounded the bed; there was barely room enough on each side of it for a single person, much less the two that were allowed in the ICU. Sharon thought that her closet might be bigger.

The light in the room had been dimmed in deference to the patient. Emily was only a few hours post-op. They had retained her in recovery following the very long surgery due to complications. Now Emily was lying in the center of a hospital bed, looking very tiny, and not at all like her daughter. They had warned her about this, that she was bruised and battered. They explained about the tubes and wires, and the ventilator. Nothing really prepared Sharon for it, though. No amount of having seen worse, of years of experience, could really prepare her for the moment that she saw her own child barely holding on to life.

The quickly indrawn breath was the only sound that she made. Her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip immediately to prevent any further sound from escaping. She stopped just inside the door. Her feet wouldn't carry her any further. Her eyes were frozen on the figure on the bed. She couldn't move forward and she felt as if she could barely breathe. Her gaze swept over everything, every bruise and bandage, from the elevated leg that had a gash running from knee to ankle, to the cast that surrounded her other. She was pale against the blankets, and that made the bruises and angry red cuts stand out in stark contrast to her usual glowing complexion.

The ventilator was the hardest thing to see. She watched Emily's chest rise and fall in perfect rhythm, but her daughter was not breathing on her own. Her body was much too weak. They had almost lost her. Emily's heart had stopped during surgery, and they were almost unable to get her back. Her body had eventually responded to their resuscitation efforts, but now they couldn't predict if her being down that long would have any permanent effects. Emily was alive, but now the question remained whether or not she would be the same. There could be neurological deficits, or so the surgeon had warned them.

Would the price for saving her daughter's life be higher than any of them were willing to pay?

It was much too soon to tell. The doctors said to wait. They were told to give it time. Her body needed to grow stronger. She needed to rest. The surgery had taken its toll on her.

The severe cut that ran the length of her lower leg was repaired. There did not appear to be any muscular or nerve damage. Emily's spleen was gone. It was removed when the bleeding could not be stopped. The surgeons had also repaired the lacerations to her lung and liver caused by the broken rib on that side. It had seriously weakened her, though. To give her time to get stronger, they were keeping her sedated. The plan was to give her body time, and then depending on how she responded, they would remove the ventilator and bring her out of the sedation. Only then would they know the true extent of her neurological deficits, if there were any.

It was never easy to see someone in so much pain, and especially when that person was your child. Emily was always so vibrant, so full of life and laughter. She was always moving, never able to stay still for even a minute. Seeing her now, still, damaged and weakened, it all seemed unthinkable.

Sharon closed her eyes. A single tear made its way slowly down her cheek. Hands gripping her shoulders brought her back from the precipice of despair. She leaned back and felt a solid, warm chest behind her. A shaky breath was exhaled, and somehow she managed to swallow past the painful lump in her throat.

"This is not happening." Her whisper was barely audible over the hiss of the ventilator and the beeping of the heart monitor.

Andy pressed his lips against the back of her head. He turned his face into her hair and sighed. His eyes closed. There were no words that he could offer her. There was nothing that he could say that would change or make better what the doctors had told them. What could he possibly say that would not make this situation worse? Andy wrapped his arm around her instead. His hand splayed across her stomach and he held her against him, held her up.

"Didn't you tell me once," he said finally, recalling a memory that Sharon had shared with him years before, "that Emily has made a study of defying the odds?" She had been telling him that she had no concerns about Rusty and Emily being able to form some kind of relationship as he became more of a permanent fixture in their family. This was before the adoption, when she had only just started thinking that keeping him could be a reality. Sharon explained that they were a lot alike, always finding ways to do the impossible. "You said that she shouldn't even be able to dance," Andy continued, "her ankles were terrible for it, and her turnout nearly non-existent, whatever that means." He was never going to understand all of the ballet terminology that was now a part of his life. "But she wanted it. She was always dancing, always moving. She worked. She rehearsed. She learned. She took class after class, and in the end, everything that made her an unlikely candidate for it didn't matter at all because what she lacked physically she made up for in raw talent and heart."

"Hm." Her eyes remained closed. She covered his hand with hers. "I may have also mentioned that she was stubborn," Sharon said quietly. "She was almost two weeks late. I didn't think that she would ever get here. Then she was so small, but so perfect. She was always happy, always smiling. There was nothing at all about Emily that prepared me for Ricky. I used to wake up through the night just to make sure that she was still breathing because she always went down so easily. Ricky cried constantly, he was colicky and hated to sleep. Then there were the tantrums. All that Emily ever wanted to do was dance. She fought for that." Sharon tipped her head back to rest against his shoulder and let it roll to the side, so that her forehead was resting against the curve of his jaw. "I just need her to fight a little while longer."

"She will." He wrapped his free arm around her torso. Andy rested his head against hers. "She is her mother's daughter. She isn't going to give up without a damned good fight. We just have to wait. I wish to hell that I had more, but that's all we've got."

"Just don't let go." It wasn't often that she allowed herself to be this needy, but she needed his strength now. She was always the strong one, but this time, she didn't know that she had it in her to be what everyone needed. She would, of course. She would stand tall, bear their burdens, and offer everything that she had. Ricky was a mess, but he was trying very hard to take care of Rusty and put on a strong front for all of them. Jack had disappeared after the doctors had spoken to them. To find a drink, a meeting, or a chapel, Sharon didn't know. Nor did she know when or if he would be back. This family, such as it was, would have to rally, and she would be at the center of it. But just now, in this moment, when it was only the two of them, she allowed herself to need someone else.

She was neither fragile nor weak. It was only a matter of knowing her to see when she was at her limit. It was rare that she allowed that. His lips brushed her forehead when he spoke. "Not a chance." He held her for just a moment longer before loosening his hold enough to give her a gentle push forward.

They walked around to the side of the bed with the fewest machines. It put them on Emily's right. Sharon sat carefully on the edge of the bed. She reached for her daughter's hand but hesitated a moment before wrapping her own trembling fingers around it. She studied it as she lifted it, the small, delicate bones, and the graceful lines. Her fingers were bruised and there were scratches on the back of it. Sharon traced one of them with her thumb before lifting her gaze to Emily's bruised face. "Alright my darling. You can rest for now, but then I need you to come back to me."

Andy knew that there was no way that Sharon would be leaving Emily anytime soon. The idea was completely inconceivable. It was also pretty damned obvious. He wouldn't be leaving either if it was his kid. Andy didn't want to leave Sharon. Part of him worried that if he left something might happen and he wouldn't be there for her. Ricky had left long enough to take Rusty and Gus home, but Sharon didn't want the two of them left alone, not while they were injured. However minor it might be, she was still going to worry about them. Buzz was crashing on the sofa at the condo to keep an eye on the boys so that Ricky could be near his sister.

As morning came upon them and there was still no sign of Jack, Andy decided that he could spare a little time away from the hospital. The team had all gone home after Emily was moved into a room in the ICU, so Andy left Sharon with Ricky to look after her and decided to go in search of his girlfriend's wayward ex-husband.

He didn't think that he would have to look far, and he was right. There was a cocktail bar just across the street. The bastard hadn't even put in the effort to drive to a liquor store. Andy found him sleeping it off in the backseat of his car, which was still parked in front of the bar. He had at least had the sense to not drive, or the complete inability. Andy wasn't sure which, and he didn't really care to find out at this point.

Andy knocked on the back passenger window. When Jack barely stirred he banged on the roof of the car. That made him jolt and sit up. Andy took a sick sense of satisfaction in watching him bump his head against the roof of the car. While Jack was looking around, bleary-eyed and hung over, Andy tried the door and found it unlocked. He pulled it open and leaned down to peer inside.

"You really are the worst kind of scum, you know that, Jack?" His gaze swept over the other man's rumpled form. "Shit. Is this what you call being a father? Your daughter is lying up there," he gestured back toward the hospital, "hanging on to life by a thread, and you're down here sleeping one off?"

"Oh go away." Jack rubbed a hand over his face. He slumped back down in the seat. "Like you're any better," he slurred. "You know the problem with you Flynn, you're a self-righteous son of a bitch. All blah, blah, blah with your twelve-steps, but you're no better than the rest of us drunks."

"That might be true," he reached out and slapped one of Jack's loafer-clad feet. He knocked it off the seat and scowled at the other man when he made no effort to move. "The difference is, I'm not the one that got shit-faced when his kid needed him tonight. What do you think is going to happen if Emily doesn't pull out of this, huh? You think anyone in your family is going to forgive the fact that you couldn't man-up, grow some balls, and be where you were needed? For once in your miserable life at least pretend to be a half-decent human being."

"Go screw yourself." Jack draped an arm across his head. The sky was still gray; the sun had not made an appearance yet, but it was still too bright as far as he was concerned. "Better yet," He added, "go screw my wife. She seems to like slumming it."

"Yeah? Always wondered how she ended up with you, and that's _ex_ -wife." Andy had already decided that if he was going to do this, he wasn't going to allow Jack's usual brand of bullshit to piss him off. The guy was full of it; there was no ignoring that, not completely. This wasn't about him, though. It wasn't even about Sharon. "Come on." He reached in and curled a hand around the other man's arm. Andy groaned as he gave it a tug. "Shit, you're packing on the pounds you old bastard."

"You're not aging so well yourself." Jack bitched and moaned but he sat up in the car. He blinked a few times and then cast an unhappy look at the other man. "What the hell do you think you're going to get out of this? You think acting like the big, bad protector is going to keep Sharon from waking up in a couple of years and realizing she's changed her mind? Trust me, it won't. She will toss you out with the garbage." He waved a hand, "Just like she does all the rest of us."

Andy rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, considering it's just been you and then me, I'm not too worried. Sharon doesn't know I'm here. This has got nothing to do with her. I'm here because if Emily doesn't make it through the next few hours, she deserves to have her old man there when she goes. If she does make it," he continued, ignoring the way that Jack grimaced, "then she should have you there when she wakes up. I could give a shit about you or what you want. If it was up to me, I'd tell the hospital staff to bar you from the place, but it's not up to me."

"I despise you," Jack decided. He was quiet for a moment. He ran a hand over his face again. "She's not coming out of this. You heard the doctors. Even if she lives, what kind of life is that? Sooner or later, Sharon is going to have to take her off those machines and let her go. It's done. It's over. I don't think there's any better reason to get shit-faced than that." He glowered at Andy. "It's not your kid that's laying up there dying, so spare me the sanctimonious bullshit."

"No, you're right," Andy told him. "It's not my kid that's laying up there all beat to hell and back. It's yours, and she's not dead yet. How do you think you're going to feel if it does all go to shit? What's your plan then, Jack? You going to crawl back into a bottle and stay there, drink yourself dead and make it that much worse on everyone whose left? God almighty!" Andy leaned back. He had to; he couldn't stand to look at the other man anymore. "You really are a stupid bastard. For some reason, you can't seem to understand what it is that you threw away, and you keep doing it. You've been given chance after chance, and you keep tossing them away." He leaned down again. His eyes were dark, burning with anger. "You know, my wife tossed me out on my ass. She didn't bother to try. Yours gave you twenty years to get your shit together and you threw it back in her face. Your kids keep trying, when god knows they'd probably be better off if they didn't. Worst of all, it's always Emily that forgives you first. You may never be anything close to the kind of father she deserves, but you owe her. If nothing else, you _owe_ her," he repeated, and stressed his point to drive it home. "So get your ass out of the car, brush your goddamned teeth, drink a cup of coffee, and go sit and wait. You were there when she came in to this world, if she does leave it, you can damned well be there for that too." His head tilted, his brow arched. "Or I can call Sanchez again. It's up to you."

"Go to hell." Jack didn't like what he had to say. He didn't want to hear it. He ground his teeth together. He couldn't ignore the churning in his gut. He could drown it in booze, but the minute the buzz wore off, it was back. "Fine." He groaned as he unfolded himself from the backseat of the car. Jack pulled himself out of it and straightened his clothes, such as they were. "I'm not going because you had anything to do with it."

"Good. For the record, I really don't give a shit why you do it. Just get your ass back upstairs." Andy made a face as he stepped away. "For god's sake, you smell like a brewery. Take care of that before Ricky sees you." Andy would send him home for a shower, but he didn't trust that he would come back. They'd find a place to get him cleaned up and figure out a change of clothes. Andy pushed the passenger door closed and let it slam a little harder than it needed to. He shook his head again. "You can drive a forty-thousand dollar car but you're still drinking cheap bourbon. Some things never change."

"The cheaper the bourbon," Jack shot back, "the faster the drunk. I seem to remember _you_ teaching me that," he sneered. "And you can keep that damned Sanchez away from me. I'm going." He sniffed. If he didn't have to deal with the hotheaded detective for a while, it would be too soon.

Andy sighed. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and let them fist there. If he made it through the morning without knocking the hell out of that guy, it would be a miracle. He wasn't much for prayer, but he was praying for all kinds of miracles at the moment, he figured adding one more to the list wouldn't hurt.

After Jack had finally gotten himself cleaned up enough to rejoin the others in the ICU, Andy convinced Sharon to leave Emily's room to get something to eat. It was mid-morning, and getting her to do it was difficult, but she couldn't deny the fact that she would be no good to her daughter if she collapsed. They did not go any farther than the waiting room, and breakfast consisted of a crappy fruit cup and cup of coffee from the cafeteria, but it was food. Andy resolved to bring her something better for lunch.

While they were sitting with their breakfast, Sharon watched him pick at the pieces in his cup. "Do you want to tell me how you managed to get Jack sobered up and back here without a police report being filed against you for excessive force?"

"Don't know what you mean" He poked at a soggy piece of strawberry before looking at Sharon again. "What makes you think Jack didn't just pull it together after he slept it off?"

Sharon rolled her eyes toward him in a knowing look. "Andy." She knew better. His benders usually lasted days. He was acting too guilty for it to have been anything but an intervention. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." He found a decent piece of melon and speared it. Then he placed it in her fruit cup and shrugged. "I guess Jack just figured out he was being a putz. Why don't we leave it at that?" As he'd told the other man, he hadn't done it for her.

"Because you are a terrible liar." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "Thank you."

"I hope you're talking about the really crappy food, because I don't know about anything else." His eyes sparkled back at her. "I'll have Buzz grab something better when he brings the boys by later." Rusty wasn't going to stay away for long, and he didn't think that Gus would either. It had been a fight just to get the boys to leave the night before. Andy gave the fruit one final, disgusted poke with his fork before he placed it on the table beside his chair.

"You should go home and get some rest," Sharon told him. "Andy, you've been here all night."

"So have you," he reminded her. "I'm the last person that you need to worry about right now. I figure if Em is still doing okay in a few hours, we'll both leave. We'll run back to your place, grab a shower and a change of clothes. If she's still doing okay tonight, I thought I might talk you in to actually getting some sleep." Andy reached over and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Besides," he teased, "the day isn't over yet. We could still end up with that police report for excessive force…"

"Please don't." She knew that he was joking, but having Jack and Andy in the same location for any extended period of time could be a tenuous situation at best. It had the potential to become quite explosive. It was not that she didn't trust Andy; she knew that he would try, but Jack would push his buttons until he simply could not ignore it anymore. She rubbed his arm and leaned in to his side. "Andy, I really do not think that I will be able to leave until Emily wakes up. There is no reason for both of us to be exhausted, and if the team gets called out, I need to know that you will be able to function."

"It will be fine," he told her. He still had no intention of leaving until she did. They would cross that bridge when they came to it. "In the meantime," he nodded to the tall styrofoam cup that held her drink. "The coffee isn't bad."

He was stubborn on a good day. Sharon leaned back in her seat with a sigh. She would have to press him to leave but she didn't have the energy for that at the moment. Perhaps later he would be more willing to listen to reason. For now, she let her head rest against his shoulder while she sipped her coffee. "I want to get back before her doctor makes his rounds," she told him. "Her condition remained the same during the night, that must be a good thing."

"It might be." Andy had no idea. He pressed his lips into her hair. "It can't be bad," he told her. "Listen, I'm sure that it's just going—" He trailed off as the intercom overhead came to life. The damned thing was loud and it wasn't worth trying to talk over.

 _Code Blue ICU-4. Code blue ICU-4._

There was a moment, barely a second, when time stilled to almost nothing. Sound was sucked out of the room, as if by a vacuum. It came back all at once, loud and rushing through their ears. They stared at one another. Neither of them fully comprehended what they had heard at first. Moments slipped by in the space of heartbeat. Everything came back to them at once. They both moved at the same time. They ran down the hall toward the electric double doors that separated the ICU ward from the rest of the hospital.

They hurried back, while the world continued to tilt on its axis. Room 4 belonged to Emily.

 **-TBC-**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

 **A/N:** Special thanks to my medical beta for making sure that I was still coloring inside the lines. Rock on **Jess**!

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

It was cold in the room. The wide-open space of it seemed to add to the overall level of detachment that she felt about it. There was something wrong here. Something very wrong, this just wasn't right. It was all wrong. _She_ was wrong. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Why did she believe that she could do this? Why did she believe that it had to be exactly her way? What was it in her thought processes that convinced her that the only way to be independent was to be _alone_?

She knew better than that. Of course she did. She was taught better. Yet for some reason, here she was. She was completely alone, and facing the most important moment of her career. Only now, only when she was just moments away from the pinnacle of everything that she had always dreamed of, had always wanted, did she realize just how very mistaken she was about all of this. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to do this alone. She did not want to be in this wide-open space that was too bright, and too cold, and missing the one thing that would make everything better.

Emily dug her cell phone out of her duffle bag and stepped out into the hall with it. It only took a moment to dial a single number from memory. It rang only twice before the call was answered. "I can't do this." They were the first words out of Emily's mouth. She skipped the basic niceties of a greeting and jumped right into the problem. "It was a mistake. I need you here. Mom…"

"Emily, calm down." Her mother's voice was warm and soothing in her ear. "Take a deep breath. You can do this. Just close your eyes and take a moment. Feel the music and think about what it means to you." She paused for a moment. "You are going to be okay."

She chewed on her bottom lip. "What if I'm not? What if I blow it?" Emily pitched her voice to a whisper; she didn't want the others that were auditioning to hear her. "What if I was wrong about this? School recitals and local shows are one thing, Mom. This is the American Ballet Theater. What if I'm not good enough?"

"What if you are?" Sharon spoke patiently. "Emily, you have been dancing toward this your entire life. It is exactly what you wanted. You have been talking about auditioning at the ABT since you were twelve-years-old. Honey…" Sharon paused again and shook her head. "Emily, you know how good you are. You really do not need me to tell you that. It is not only skill. You know that. Now close your eyes and take a breath."

Emily groaned quietly. She did as she was told. She drew a slow breath and let it out slowly. "I'm scared," She admitted.

"I know. I am not going to deny that this is a big moment. The only thing that you have to concentrate on right now is dancing. Worry about tomorrow when it comes. Today I just want you to dance like nothing else matters. It is only you and the music. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Emily reached up and wiped an errant tear away. "I wish that you were here."

"Turn around."

The hand that was holding the phone dropped as Emily realized that the voice was much closer. She found her mother standing right behind her. She moaned quietly and leaned almost desperately into a hug when her mother's arms opened. "You came."

"Of course I did." Sharon gathered her close. She cupped the back of her daughter's head and rocked her trembling body gently from side to side. "I had a feeling that you might change your mind."

"I'm really glad that you are here." Emily leaned back. She smiled brightly. She looked beyond her mother's shoulder when she heard her name called. She took another breath. She had to go back into that bright, cold room. "I have to go."

"Not yet." Sharon cupped her chin. She smiled brightly at her. "You are all grown up now, but if you need me, I will always be here. Okay?"

She felt like she should have been stronger, more independent. She was twenty-four years old, after all. She had a Master's Degree for crying out loud. She shouldn't need her mommy to hold her hand. Emily could not deny that she felt a lot better for having her there, though. It was warmer, and safer somehow. "Yes. I love you."

"I love you too little bug," She smiled as she used the nickname that she had given her as a baby. She was the _Little Bug_ even before she was born, because she was always dancing and fluttering about, like a little dragonfly. "Now I need you to do something else for me." Her face turned serious. Her smile melted away. "Wake up, Emily."

"What?"

"Wake up."

"I don't…" The hall began to fade away. It became dark and blurred. Her body felt weighted down. There was a fog all around her. It was thick and unyielding. She couldn't see through it. "Mom?" She spoke, and then cried out, although she was not altogether certain that her mouth was even moving.

"Emily, wake up."

She was awake. At least she thought that she was. She could hear the voices around her. She just felt entirely too heavy. Emily tried to concentrate on the sound of the voice that was closest to her, but it was difficult. Darkness was hovering at the edge of the fog and it was so close, so inviting. It seemed so warm and comfortable.

"Emily. Come on, Little Bug."

There she was again. She thought that she felt something touch her face. Once she concentrated on that, Emily became aware of other sensations in her body. All at once she felt the pain. It was as though she was on fire. Her legs, her middle, there was not a part of her that did not feel as if it wasn't hurting in some way or another. She whimpered and closed her eyes even tighter. Emily turned her face away. She tried to move, tried to shuffle her feet in the same fitful manner that she had as a child when she had been unwell.

"Shh. Emily. Look at me." She cupped her daughter's chin and drew her face back toward her. Sharon hated to see her in pain, but it was necessary that they bring her out of the sedation. She was seated on the edge of Emily's bed in the ICU. Sharon leaned close and smiled when Emily's eyes fluttered open. Her eyes were glazed, unseeing at first. "There you are." She drew Emily's gaze and continued to speak to her. "Emily, do you understand me?"

"Mom." She wanted to shrink away. It hurt. Everything hurt. "Mom, it hurts…"

"I know." Her stomach clenched at the sound of her daughter's pain. A line had formed between Emily's brows. She had responded to other stimuli, and the brain scans were good, but they couldn't know for certain how much brain activity she retained until she was awake. She was sedated following surgery. The doctors had been weaning her off of it. They said that it was better to bring her out of it sooner rather than later. "We are going to give you something for that very soon," she promised. "Emily, do you know where you are?"

Emily shook her head. She turned her face away and closed her eyes. "Mom, it hurts." That was the only thing that she could focus on at the moment.

They warned her that Emily would be in pain. She had not imagined that it would be this severe. "Yes, little bug. I know that it does," she crooned softly. "Emily, open your eyes." She pulled her face back around. "Do you know where you are?"

A low groan rumbled in her throat. Emily looked around the room. "Hospital," she answered. The frown that was furrowing her brow deepened. "What happened?"

"There was a car accident," Sharon explained. "Do you remember that?"

"No." Emily closed her eyes. "I don't know." It was all very fuzzy in her head. She was only aware of the pain at the moment. _Stay with me, Princess. Don't go anywhere yet._ _Just stay right here._ The voice that sounded in her head was familiar. She couldn't entirely place it, and there was too much else to focus on.

She was already pale, but her color had worsened. A cold sweat had broken out across her brow. "Okay, enough for now." Sharon glanced at the nurse in the room and nodded. She watched as she stepped forward to inject something into Emily's IV. "Just rest for now. We can talk about what happened when you are better." Sharon continued to hold her daughter's hand in one of hers while combing the fingers of her other through Emily's hair. She watched as Emily's body slowly relaxed. The line between her brows grew softer, but did not fade away completely. She was still in some pain, although the medication had taken the edge off. Sharon waited until Emily sank back into unconsciousness before she rose from the edge of the bed.

Sharon exhaled a thin breath and ran her hands over her face. She swept her hair back before letting her arms fall to her sides. For a moment, her shoulders slumped and she felt the weight of the past few days; they seemed even further weighed down by all of her fifty-nine years. Sharon folded her arms across her chest and turned again to study her daughter's sleeping form. It had been a very long three days.

Emily's condition had worsened for a time. They had almost lost her. Sharon did not think that she had ever been more frightened than she was, standing in the hall outside this tiny room, completely helpless while the medical staff worked to resuscitate her daughter. Her knees must have buckled, because she recalled Andy wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her up. She had reached for Ricky and pulled him close; she held on to his arm, her grip almost bruising. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

Seconds had ticked by, until they became minutes. Long minutes that felt like years. The world narrowed. There was no sound, no sight, nothing more important than the activity surrounding her daughter's bed.

They had managed to get her heart beating again, but Emily's condition was still grave. When she had not improved much over the next few hours, further testing was performed. Scans showed additional bleeding missed during the initial surgery. Emily was taken back into surgery and the waiting game began all over again. Twenty-four hours later they were reasonably sure that all of the trauma caused to her body had either been repaired or was not life threatening. It was only a matter of whether or not Emily's body could withstand the healing process.

The idea of leaving the hospital was completely inconceivable to Sharon, more so after Emily had coded. She kept a constant vigil, and when she was not in Emily's room, she was not far from it. The others came and went. Ricky traded out with his father, or with Rusty. It seemed as if when they were not with Emily, they were on the phone. Sharon's parents no longer traveled and lived too far away to make the trip by car. They and the rest of the family were being kept up to date through calls and email.

Sharon wandered to the open glass door. Andy was leaning against the frame. She smiled tiredly at him. He had been in and out of the hospital for the last two days. The rest of her team had caught a case, and he would have gladly used vacation days to stay with her, but she wouldn't allow it. She didn't want to leave the team too short-handed, and besides which, they had agreed that they would not allow their personal relationship to affect their professional responsibilities. So however much she appreciated the fact that he was now pulling double duty, spending what time he had that he wasn't needed at the hospital, Sharon wished that he would go home and get some rest. It was not an argument she could win, though. He wouldn't do that until she did, and she was not leaving the hospital until Emily was stronger.

They seemed to be nearer to that now. They had taken Emily off the ventilator the day before. After giving her body another day to get stronger, it was time to begin bringing her out of the sedation. She seemed to be intact neurologically, at least in her mother's opinion. The final call would belong to the doctor, who was still near the bed, making notes in Emily's chart.

Andy had arrived a few minutes before. He had waited near the door while they woke Emily. "Hey." He wondered if he would be able to get Sharon to leave with him now. She needed a break. She was looking thin and drawn, and a little ragged around the edges. "How did it go?"

"Good I think." Sharon stopped in front of him. "She doesn't remember the accident, but I did not expect her to. She was in a good deal of pain, but she did not seem to be terribly altered. I think it was a good sign. Now we just need her to get stronger."

"She will." Andy reached out and stroked the length of her arm. "I've got an idea…"

"Andy." She knew that look. Sharon sighed as she looked away. She did a half pivot so that his hand fell away from her arm. "I am not leaving." Her gaze swept back around to land on her daughter's bed. What the medical staff was discussing, she could not hear. They were keeping their voices pitched too low.

"Sharon." He could feel his frustration with her rising. Andy stamped down on it. He knew he would be the same way if it were Nicole or Charlie. He rubbed his fingers across his forehead and took a moment to consider how best to make his point. Damn but she was stubborn. He wrapped his hand around her arm and pulled her out into the hall. Andy had the pleasure of watching her eyes flash with irritation. That was better than the constant fear and worry that he had seen in them since the accident. "Look," he said quietly, "all I'm saying is, come home with me for a couple of hours. Get a shower, change your clothes. Hell, take a nap and sleep on something that has a decent mattress. You can come back tonight." She was using the facilities at the hospital that were set up for the families of acute care patients, but it wasn't her own place with her own things.

"I am still not comfortable with the idea of—"

It was the same protest that he had been hearing for the last couple of days. Andy was tired of it. The fact was, Sharon was the patient one in this relationship and they both knew it. His dark eyes flashed with aggravation. "Okay," he said tersely, "fine." Andy leaned around her. "Hey doc," he waved the woman over when he got her attention. "How is she doing?" He nodded his head in Emily's direction.

" _Andy_." Sharon's lips thinned. Her eyes narrowed. However stubborn he might accuse her of being, he would always be far more bullheaded than anyone else she had ever met. She poked his side, but he was ignoring her now. Her teeth ground together. She could feel heat rising through her body, flushing her skin and giving her fatigued pallor much needed color. It was frustration with a hint of anger. She was going to throttle him.

"We are pleased with her progress," the doctor began. Her gaze shifted from the man to the mother. "The response to stimuli and general awareness we noted a few minutes ago supports the scans we took this morning. It does not appear that there will be any neurological deficits, but we will keep an eye on that as her recovery continues. Her vitals look good. Her heart rate is still lower than I would like, but as you mentioned," she said to Sharon, "she is a dancer, so she is a physically active young woman. I would expect her resting heart rate to be low. It's in a normal range for someone of her age and profession, but we are going to continue to watch it since I do not have a baseline for your daughter." She paused for a moment. "Over all, I would say that she is doing very well. I am very optimistic."

"Optimistic." Andy pointed at the doctor, but he was looking down at Sharon. "Did you hear that? Optimistic. So you don't think," he continued, turning his attention back to the physician, "that there's any reason why her mother couldn't leave for a few hours? Would you say that Emily is out of the woods?" He was out on a limb and he could sense it beginning to splinter beneath him, but Andy had no intention of turning back.

Sharon's lips pursed. She looked away. She was definitely going to throttle him. Already her mind was conjuring up any number of ways that she could make him pay for this little interference. "Andrew." It was the last warning that he would get.

The doctor looked between the two. She clasped her hands in front of her and tilted her head. She schooled her features to hide her amusement. This was an argument that she was quite familiar with. In these cases, it wasn't only the patients that they had to care for. "I would say that, yes." It drew a surprised look from the mother and a smug one from the man that was with her. "We will keep her in ICU for another day, maybe two, and continue to monitor her condition closely, but I do believe that the danger is behind us. Your daughter is getting stronger. How well she recovers will depend on her, and a number of outside factors, but as far as the rest goes I am still listing her in critical condition. We are still monitoring her closely, but if you are asking if you can leave, the answer is yes."

When Andy looked at Sharon, he found her staring back at him with a look that could only be described as _dangerous_. He was going to be a dead man soon. The hours of his life were ticking away. He decided that he didn't care. "That's great news. So we can go, get something to eat…" _You can yell at me_ , he finished mentally.

Her lips curved into a smile that was entirely too saccharine. Sharon chose to ignore him for the moment. She turned back to the doctor. "Thank you. That is very good news."

"For whatever it is worth," the doctor continued, "your friend is right. Your daughter has a long recovery ahead of her. You should think of this as a marathon, rather than a sprint. Emily's injuries are considerable. She is young and she is healthy, but even after she leaves the hospital, she will still face weeks, maybe even months of physical therapy, depending on how her body responds. Pace yourself, mom. We are just getting started."

Andy waited until the doctor and the rest of the staff had left the room before he turned back to Sharon. "Months," he repeated. "So maybe I'm not that big of a blockhead after all. It sounds like you can definitely get out of here for a couple of hours. Come on." He turned her toward him because she was refusing to look at him now. "You're exhausted, Sharon. It's just a little break. Emily won't be alone. Ricky is here, and…" It pained him to say it. He almost couldn't form the words. "So is Jack. They can keep an eye on her."

"Oh no," Sharon said quietly. "You are still a blockhead." She closed her eyes. Sharon drew a breath and let it out slowly. The idea of leaving made her nervous. "I do not need you to handle me," she said quietly. "I am more than capable of…"

"Yeah, I know." Andy grinned down at her. "You can take care of yourself. Been doing it a long time. Thing is, when it comes to your kids, you're not that great at it, sweetheart. It's not a bad thing; it's just the way things are. That's where I come in. Now let's go, so you can yell at me. I know you're dying to. I can see it. Here's the deal, you can yell at me all the way home, and if you don't yell too loud, I'll still wash your back. I might even feed you. It's win-win."

Sharon snorted at him. "What makes you think that I am letting you anywhere near my shower?" She pointed a finger at him. "There is going to be punishment. That might just be it." Sharon left him standing at the door and walked over to gather her sweater and her purse. She leaned over the edge of the bed smoothed Emily's hair back from her brow. "I will be back soon baby." She pressed a kiss to her temple. Sharon lingered for a moment and almost changed her mind again. She closed her eyes and nodded once. If she was going to leave, the first time would be the hardest and it was now or never. Sharon turned on her heel and walked quickly to the door. She swept past Andy, purse on her shoulder and sweater draped over her arm. "Do not touch me," she warned, when his hand hovered near her back. "I want to yell at you first."

"Deal with it." He laid his hand against her lower back. "You can just yell longer." When she leaned in to his side, he curled his arm around her. When she sighed, he kissed the side of her head. "If I'm late getting back, I'll just tell Provenza that it's all your fault."

Sharon let him maneuver her down the hall and through the double doors at the end. They stopped by the waiting room to update the others on Emily's condition and let them know where they were going. Sharon noticed that Rusty was back. His arm was in a cast now. She was tempted to fuss at him for not having it in the sling, but chose to let it go for the moment. She instructed the boys to call her, immediately, if there was any change in their sister's condition. After promises from both of her sons, and another from her ex-husband, Sharon let Andy lead her away from the waiting room.

They were silent on the way to Andy's car. Sharon was leaving hers with Ricky and Rusty. She waited until they were enclosed in the vehicle before turning in her seat. She stared at him. He was looking back at her and appeared to be waiting. Sharon didn't know if the patient expression frustrated her that much more or not. Her eyes narrowed. "Sometimes you can be a complete…" She grappled for the right word. Finally she decided to use his. "Blockhead." She rubbed her lips together before she continued. "Stubborn, arrogant, pain in the neck. I do not need to be handled, or maneuvered, and I am perfectly capable of making decisions for my children and myself and I do not require your approval. Are we clear on that?"

"Yeah." Andy had one of his wrists draped over the top of the steering wheel. He was half turned toward her in the front seat. "We're pretty clear on that." She wasn't glaring at him anymore, but she was giving him that pointed look that used to piss him off when she was in FID, the one that questioned whether or not he could actually comprehend the words that were coming out of her mouth or if he was a complete idiot. "You're worn out," he said. "You're run down. You're running on fumes right now. You might be perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and the kids, but you aren't thinking about yourself right now. That's okay, you don't have to; I can do that, and you can be as pissed off about it as you want to be, but I'm still going to do it. You didn't want to leave before, and I get it. That's why I didn't push too hard. There's no reason you can't do that now. She's got her brothers, and she's got her dad, and for the most part, Jack is behaving himself." He hadn't disappeared again. If he was still drinking, they hadn't caught him at it. Jack was still Jack, though. Nothing was going to change that. "Be as mad as you want, Sharon, but I'm not going to stop taking care of you. Are we clear on that?"

The corners of her mouth twitched but she suppressed the smile. "Yes. We are pretty clear on that." She sat back in her seat and turned her gaze forward. "I am glad that we could have this conversation. Now, are we going to sit here all afternoon, or are you actually going to drive me home."

Andy rolled his eyes at her. He shook his head as he turned in his seat and started the car. "Yes ma'am." He caught the upward curve of her lips from the corner of his eye.

"Hm." Sharon leaned her head back and closed her eyes as they backed out of the parking spot. She was silent as the car moved. She felt it turn a few times and when she was sure that they had turned on to the street and were headed away from the hospital, she reached for his hand. She laced their fingers together as their hands rested against the console between them. "Thank you."

Even if he was infuriating, she knew that he was only looking out for her best interests. She might not need him to, but he did it anyway. It was often frustrating, but she had to remind herself that she did the same for him. The give and take in a relationship was not always easy. They managed as best they could, for two people who had been independent for so much of their adult lives. They were both stubborn, but it was made easier by the fact that they both wanted the same thing. Each other. It was as simple and as complicated as that. They were combining two lives and two families, and two very strong personalities. There were going to be dark spots and upsets. Her eyes remained closed, but Sharon smiled when she felt Andy's thumb stroke the back of her hand. For every moment that he aggravated her and every time that she annoyed him, it was worth it. She may not need it, but she had someone to lean on.

She did not _need_ it, but she _wanted_ it. That was the difference that allowed her to be swayed, to give in when she could have continued to ignore him.

"You're welcome." He spoke quietly. He gave her hand a squeeze and kept his gaze on the streets that he was maneuvering with one hand. "She's going to be okay." Andy knew that Sharon had heard enough platitudes and promises. He shrugged as he drove. "She's through the worst of it, Sharon. Now she's just got to get stronger."

"Yes." Her head rolled against the seat. Sharon's eyes fluttered open and she studied him. He was every bit as tired and worn as she was. Her thumb stroked the side of his hand. "I think so too," she replied. It was not lost on her that he was taking care of all of them. That they were in his service car because he was letting Rusty use his personal vehicle to get back and forth to home, the hospital, school, and his own doctor's appointments. That reminded Sharon that she needed to speak to the insurance adjuster again. Rusty's car would have to be replaced. There was really no rush on that, however. They were managing. "Leaving her is difficult," she continued, "I worry that they might have missed something else. We have almost lost her too many times."

Jack had thrown a fit, made a lot of noise about wanting Emily moved to another hospital. As the surgeons had explained though, it was a slow bleed. With trauma like Emily's it was easy to miss. It was one of those situations where this kind of complication was common. Sharon had simply, calmly, and in no uncertain terms told them to fix it. "I know," Andy said. "I get it, but she's getting stronger now, and she's okay enough to breathe on her own. That's a good sign, right? She was awake for a couple of seconds, and she was more or less aware. I don't think that anything is going to happen to her while you are gone. If it does, the boys will call." Andy tossed a small, understanding smile at her. "You can't control everything."

"I know." Accepting that she could only maneuver the bends and turns that life placed in front of her was not an easy feat. "It would be so much simpler if I could."

"Yeah." They stopped at a light and Andy grinned at her. "For you maybe. What about the rest of us poor fools?"

Her head tilted. Sharon smiled at him. "Oh, I would go easy on you." She paused for a moment as her head rolled back to its previous resting place and her eyes closed again. "For the most part."

"Uh huh, see, that is the part that worries me." Andy shook his head as he waited for the light to change. "Your idea of going easy on me is buying the unsalted peanuts."

"Salt is bad for you," she commented easily. Her smile widened, although her eyes remained closed. There was a dull ache behind them, brought on by fatigue and the stale air in the hospital. "It causes high blood pressure."

Andy made a face. "My blood pressure is fine," he shot back.

"Because we cut back on the salt," she replied calmly. "I would say that we cut it out completely, but I know about the can of salted peanuts in your desk drawer."

"Which you are not allowed to comment on." Andy grinned, he was proud of himself for that little maneuver. His girlfriend might have dumped the salt at both of their houses, but she couldn't say a word about what he was keeping at work. There were upsides to this little separation of work and home life that she had insisted upon.

Sharon hummed. "If your boss determines that your work performance is being inhibited by your physical status, then she can modify your duties until such a time that you take proper steps to correct the situation." She didn't have to open her eyes to know that he was scowling at her. "In other words," she continued, "your personnel file can be altered from active to desk monkey quite easily."

His eyes narrowed. The corner of his mouth curled toward a sneer. "You wouldn't."

Her eyes opened. She looked at him. "No. _I_ wouldn't." Sharon paused for a moment, and then she added, "but your boss might if it becomes necessary."

Yes, Andy thought. She would, in a heartbeat. She didn't need him taking care of her. He didn't need her taking care of him. Here they were, doing it anyway. They were crossing lines and blurring boundaries, and there was no one person more or less at fault than the other. Andy huffed a sigh. "Fine." He returned his gaze to the front of the car. "But if my peanuts are gone, then you can kiss that stash of potato chips you've got hidden in the top of the pantry goodbye too."

Sharon got comfortable in her seat again. Her eyes closed as she hummed. "I do not know what you are talking about. Those must belong to Rusty."

"Yeah right." Andy snorted at her. "Liar." Sharon might prefer a healthy lifestyle. She bought organic, and avoided too much salt, grease, or fat on a regular basis, but she had a weakness for salty potato chips when she was feeling like indulging herself. She wasn't one for sweets, or junk food, and she did not indulge often, but he found it rather amusing that her particular choice of stress eating involved something so mundane. Maybe that was because Sharon was anything but simple or ordinary. "Just remember what I said. If my peanuts are gone," he repeated, "those chips have seen their last visit to the pantry."

"We can discuss an equitable compromise later," she decided. "After you've washed my back."

In other words, she was going to distract him. His peanuts would still be gone, at least the salted ones, and he could forget about removing her chips in return. Andy lifted her hand to his lips. "Yeah, I can deal with that." For now, traffic was pretty thick. It was going to take them a little while to get back to the condo. He grew silent and decided to let her rest for what was left of the drive. It didn't really surprise him that she was asleep a few minutes later. If Andy decided to take the long way back to Los Feliz, well, she wouldn't really have to know about it.

 **-TBC-**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

The next time that Emily Raydor opened her eyes it was with a low, pained groan. Her reaction was prompted more by what she saw, rather than how she actually felt. There was pain throbbing through every part of her body. Emily could not recall when she had ever hurt so profoundly. That was pushed aside, however, as she turned her face away from the person seated beside her bed; in her experience pain was only temporary. She hoped that this would be the same.

"Oh god, why did it have to be you?" She shifted on the bed. The pain made her restless and that only made her hurt more. "Go away, you're bad luck, Chuck."

Charlie had not been sitting with her long. He had just come off of another night shift. It was still pretty early in the morning; visiting hours had not even started yet. The night-shift nurses had let him in because of his profession. The _Computer Nerd_ was camped out in the waiting room, and Charlie was surprised to not find Sharon or his dad around. He had only spoken to the other guy for a couple of minutes, but Ricky had explained that Emily had been in and out over the last day and a half, but was never awake for more than a couple of minutes before the pain medication put her under again. They didn't know how aware or not she was each time; her vitals were getting stronger, though, so she was doing well in spite of the pain. He also explained that Andy had convinced Sharon to leave again, this time to get a full night's sleep in an actual bed. Where the other guy, Emily's dad, had gotten off to, Charlie didn't know, and he hadn't asked.

"Wow. You really are a whiner." Charlie stood up and walked over to press the intercom button on the wall behind Emily's bed. It connected him directly to the nurse's station. When the night-shift charge nurse answered, he let him know that Emily was awake and in pain. Afterward, he reclaimed his seat and got comfortable. Charlie stretched his legs out in front of him. "So this is the thanks I get? I'm bad luck? Princess, you were the one without the good sense to ride in the backseat."

"Why are you even here?" Emily didn't know which part of her body hurt more, her legs or her torso. "Go bother someone else." She looked around the room. Her eyesight was a little fuzzy, but cleared after she blinked a few times. "Where is my mom?"

"First you malign me, and then you ask for your mother." Charlie clucked his tongue at her. He shook his head slowly. "Good to know that you've got your priorities in line." He glanced over as the door to her room slid open. Charlie waited while the nurse checked Emily over. After her meds were administered and they were left alone again, he leaned forward to rest his arms against his knees. "Your mom has been here pretty much around the clock. My dad finally talked her into getting out of here for a while. It's still pretty early, but I'm sure that she'll be back in a couple of hours." He glanced at his watch. "It's not quite six yet."

"Oh." Emily was trying to relax. She knew that the medicine would work soon. She knew that she was in a hospital, but she didn't know how long she had been there, or what day it was." Her brows knit together in a frown as she tried to think back and recall what had happened. _You're going to piss me off if you try dying on me, Princess._ She closed her eyes for a moment. Her memories were disjointed. The last thing that she really remembered was being in the car with the boys. "What happened?"

"Car accident." Charlie shrugged his left shoulder and rolled his eyes. "Idiot was texting and driving. He drifted toward the median. When he jerked his car back into his lane, he over compensated and cut you guys off. Gus had to hit the breaks to keep from hitting the guy, but the car behind you was following too close and hit you. The car got knocked into the next lane, flipped over the median, and landed right in the middle of oncoming traffic." He delivered the details of the wreck with as little embellishment as he could. Charlie didn't really think that she wanted the gruesome details. "The guys are okay," he told her. "Rusty has a broken arm, and they both got a little banged up, but nothing that required a hospital stay."

Emily nodded slowly. Her eyes were getting heavy again, but she forced them open. She rubbed her lips together and let her mind wrap around all of that. "You were there?" She asked. She wasn't sure if she really remembered that or if it was just her head playing games with her since he was there and being his usually charming self.

"Yeah." Charlie leaned back in his chair. He pointed at his uniform. "That's kind of what I do. Pretty princesses get smashed up and I swoop in," he smirked at her. There was a devious gleam in his dark eyes. "I clean up the mess when they total perfectly decent Volvos."

"Aw." Emily rolled her eyes at him. "You think I'm pretty." Her lips curved into a smile that was all sarcasm and very little gratitude. "That is so sweet. If you weren't a complete narcissist, I might think it was cute."

"What?" Charlie sat up. He pointed a finger at her. "I didn't say that, and if anyone here is the narcissist, it's you, Manhattan Barbie."

"No, you said it." Emily shifted on the bed again to get more comfortable. "You think I'm pretty. No take-backs." _Just hang on a little while longer_. She heard his voice in her head again, and could almost imagine that she was back in the car. It was wet and cold, and was he in the car _with_ her? Emily rubbed her lips together again. She let her head roll to the side so that she could study him. He was still trying to think of a comeback. "I don't remember a lot," she said. "I think I remember you. Thank you." They stared at one another for a moment before Emily smiled and added, "for completely dismantling my baby brother's car. I am pretty sure that there should be a bill for that. I'll have my mom send it to you."

"I'll keep an eye out for it," Charlie leaned back again. He crossed his legs at the ankles and got comfortable. "When it shows up, I'll just ask my dad to handle it for me. I heard he's got her wrapped around his finger."

"Pretty sure I heard that it was the other way around." Emily allowed her eyes to close. "Seriously though, do you have to be here? I'm going to sleep now, and the idea of you watching me do that is just a little creepy."

"Well I was going to go, but now I am definitely staying." Charlie smirked. "Kid, I can do this all day, but you are fading fast."

"You understand that you are exactly three seconds older than me, right?" Emily made a face at him. Why did he have to be so annoying? If her mother was going to start dating, why couldn't it be someone with normal children? Okay, she took that back. Nicole was normal. So maybe the question she should be asking was how Charlie turned out to be so _ab_ normal.

"It's more like six months," Charlie pointed out, "but you are on some pretty heavy medication so we can let your lack of basic mathematical skills slide for now. There will be a test later, and don't worry, if you don't pass I will make sure that I tell everyone about your inability to add, or subtract, or you know, mark time recognition."

"Go away, weirdo. I am trying to sleep here. Crawl off and cry to daddy, Chucky." Emily's eyes were closed again, and this time she couldn't force them open.

Charlie watched her slide back under the veil of the pain medication. He checked his watch again before sinking fully into the chair. He had a little while before he would have to go back to his apartment and crash for a few hours. He could wait until her mom and his dad showed up before he split.

"Who the hell are you!"

He must have dozed off. One minute Charlie was checking email on his phone, and the next he was jerking upright in his chair. His phone clattered to the floor while he looked around to determine where the voice had come from. A man that he did not recognize was standing in the entrance to the room, holding a cup of coffee. He was older, a little on the bulky side, with hair that had gone white and was in some disarray. It seemed to go with his slightly rumpled appearance. The guy was bleary eyed, but scowling at him.

Charlie knew a hangover when he saw one. He leaned over and picked up his phone before he pushed himself up out of the chair. He looked the phone over before sliding it into his pocket. It was still in one piece, thankfully. Charlie ran a hand over his face. He hadn't planned on falling asleep, but it had been a long night. "I think the better question," he replied, "is who the hell are you?" He kept his voice low, in deference to the sleeping patient and the fact that they were in an ICU ward.

The older man moved further into the room. He stood near the end of the bed while his eyes narrowed. "I'm her father." Jack's eyes swept over the guy. Broad shoulders, tall. He was in a LAFD polo shirt with a paramedic patch on the sleeve. The name that was embroidered on the left side, below the collar, drew his attention. _Flynn_. That had Jack's lip curling up in disgust. "Oh I see," he said. "You belong to the replacement. Well isn't that nice. I guess it's just one big happy family around here, isn't it?"

So this was the deadbeat. Charlie looked him up and down before shaking his head. He folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head at the older man. "Actually," he drawled, "that's not too far from the truth." A smirk slowly curved his mouth upward. "Dad finally got Mom to leave for a little while," Charlie decided if the guy was going to be a jerk, he would pour it on thick and have a little fun while he was at it. "Rick was getting some sleep, and ya know, Rusty got a little beat up in the accident too. Baby brother should really rest, so I volunteered to keep an eye on little sis for a while." He flashed a wide, charming smile and stuck out a hand in greeting. "I'm Charlie by the way. I guess that makes you dad number three, huh? You don't mind if I just give you all numbers from now on right? I mean, two moms, three dads, it's getting a little confusing." Before the other man could answer, he went on, "Hey, you don't have any other kids do you? I mean, there's already five of us, six if you count Gus. Actually, I guess that makes it seven when we count my other sister's husband." He made a show of counting on his fingers since the guy hadn't wanted to shake his hand.

Jack glared at him. His head was pounding too badly for any of that to have made sense. He lifted his coffee and took a long drink before cocking his head at the younger man. "Since last I checked, my wife wasn't married to that idiot yet, I don't think that makes you any part of this family. How did you get in here before visiting hours started?" He pointed a finger at the kid. "Doesn't surprise me if you're using your little job there," he wagged his finger at the uniform, "to push your way into places that you don't belong. That's exactly the kind of thing that Flynn would do."

His brows rose. Charlie might not always get along with his old man, but he didn't appreciate the implied insult, for either of them. "My little job?" He asked, voice dipping dangerously. His jovial smile melted away. Charlie's arms folded across his chest again. His stance shifted, becoming more defensive as he stood with his legs slightly apart. "Right," he nodded slowly. "My little job, as you put it, is to crawl into smashed up pieces of metal and help the people trapped inside. I don't know what's going on with you and my dad, or your _ex-_ wife, and with all due respect sir, I don't exactly give a damn either. I came to check on my patient. In the interest of doing that, I am going to suggest that you go and finish sobering up before your presence disturbs her."

His smile was slow and mean. Jack took a step forward. "Yeah, I guess you'd know a drunk when you see one, huh?" He lifted his coffee cup in salute.

Charlie took a step forward as well and drew himself up to his full height. He looked down his nose at the other man. "I know that I'm looking at one right now."

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" Sharon looked between the two men as she stepped into the room. The ICU only allowed two visitors at a time. Ricky had told them that Jack was already back with Emily, so Andy had opted to remain in the waiting room while she checked on her daughter. She was surprised to find Charlie there. Ricky had mentioned that he stopped by a few hours before, but thought that the other man had left while he was sleeping. Her head inclined and her brows rose when neither man immediately answered her. The animosity between them was palpable. She fought the urge to sigh. Despite sleeping in her own bed, Sharon was still tired. She had gained more rest than sleeping at the hospital would have garnered, but she was still restless throughout the night. "Do I need to ask you again?"

There was a warning note in her tone, one that grated on his nerves. Jack cut his eyes toward her. It was a tone that he was more than familiar with. It usually heralded a lecture, and prior to the divorce, it would have meant an argument. Hell, who was he kidding? There would probably be an argument anyway. Jack let his gaze slide back to Charlie. He shook his head slowly. "Nope, nothing wrong here. Just didn't expect to find a strange young man in my daughter's room, that's all."

Charlie decided to ignore the jab. He turned to Sharon instead. "Dad's been keeping me updated on how she was doing, but I felt bad about not being able to stop by before now. I thought I would try to hang out until you got back. Guess I dozed off." He offered a sheepish grin. "I should really be getting out of here now. I'm on second shift tonight."

Sharon stepped back out of his way. As Charlie passed her, she moved into the hall with him. "You are working too hard," she told him. "Have you considered that what you might need is a day off?" Sharon smiled kindly at him.

"Yeah, well…" Charlie reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. She sounded like his mother. He wondered for a moment how well it would go over if he mentioned that. Rather than open that can of worms, he shrugged at her. "What I need is to finish restoring a 67 Mustang, and that ain't cheap. I'll be able to take some time off in a couple of months."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Good grief, you sound like your father." She would never understand these boys and their toys. Ricky was just as bad, and so was Rusty, although the hobbies might differ. Although, if she was honest about it, Sharon supposed she had her own interests too that might be just as baffling to others. She would still much rather have her shoes than this odd obsession with classic vehicles that Andy and his son seemed to share. She couldn't fully begrudge it, however. It was a bonding point for the two of them since Charlie had moved back to Los Angeles. Sharon couldn't suppress her smile. "You know that your dad offered to help you with that," she pointed out, but like his father, Charlie was a proud and stubborn man.

"I know." Charlie scuffed his the toe of his work boot against the tiled floor. "It's not a big deal. You gotta pay to play, and I'm planning on keeping this one, so…" He wanted to pay for it himself. If he was planning on selling it, as he had with previous restorations, he would have let his dad pitch in. In the end, it wasn't about the money. It was about the car, and how it felt when it was finished. Right now, it was about the time that he and his dad were spending together. "Anyway," Charlie continued, changing the subject, "Emily woke up a couple of hours ago. The nurse gave her a shot of morphine, so she went back under pretty quick, but she was able to stay awake long enough to give me a hard time." He watched Sharon's eyes widen and shrugged again. "I thought you'd like to know."

"Yes." Sharon smiled warmly. "Thank you, Charlie. Emily woke up a couple of times while I was with her yesterday, but she wasn't very coherent on either occasion. Did she remember anything?"

He thought about it for a moment. Charlie decided to keep some of that conversation between Emily and himself. "Not really," he told her. "Bits and pieces, but that's pretty normal. Some of it might come back to her, or she might not remember any of the accident at all. It might be better if she doesn't." He pushed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "The truth is, we can tell her what happened, and I did. She doesn't have to remember it, and I wouldn't push her to, if it comes back, so be it. She was trapped, and she was in pain. My advice is let it be."

"I think so too," Sharon replied. Not only because she had discussed the matter with Doctor Joe, but she could also picture only too well what Emily had probably experienced the night of the wreck. Sharon had seen too many of those accident scenes to be able to completely block it out of her mind. "I would rather Emily concentrate on getting stronger. If she remembers the events of that night, then we will deal with it." She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "I won't keep you any longer. You should go home and get some rest."

"Yeah, I'm beat." He looked back into the room. Emily's dad had moved around to take a seat beside the bed. Charlie's brows drew together in a frown. "You know he's…"

"Nursing a hangover?" Sharon drew a breath and let it out slowly. Her lips pressed together for a moment before she nodded. "Yes, I am aware." On any other occasion she might have dealt with it, for now Emily was her focus and she simply did not have the energy to spare for Jack. "I would apologize for his behavior, but I learned a long time ago that there is really no excuse for Jackson, and excusing him gets me nowhere at all."

"I was going to say that he was a real pain in the ass," Charlie told her with a half grin, "but that works too." For a moment his dark eyes sparkled. "I could toss him out, if you want me to."

He looked entirely too gleeful at the idea. Sharon was reminded of his father again. "Charles, believe me when I tell you, I am more than capable of tossing Jackson Raydor out on his ear if the need arises."

"Somehow, I think you might be." Charlie shook his head. "Okay, but if you change your mind, you've got my number." His grin turned devious. "I know a guy that might be willing to help me take care of it for you."

"I am sure that you do." Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "Go home, Charles. Go to sleep."

There she went again, using that tone on him that he usually only heard from his own mother. Charlie made a face at her as he turned. " _Yes mom_."

Sharon watched him. As he moved through the double doors at the end of the hall her smile faded. She turned slowly to gaze back into her daughter's room. There was going to come a day, very soon, when she would remind Jackson Raydor exactly why becoming complacent with her was always such a poor choice. For now, as long as he kept his drunkenness outside of the hospital and away from their children, she would bide her time. Sharon schooled her features carefully and allowed the smile that she normally reserved for difficult suspects to curve her lips.

Sharon said nothing as she rounded the bed on its other side. She leaned over the edge to press a kiss to the top of her daughter's head before taking a seat. She gave Jack no indication that she was prepared to, in any way, acknowledge his presence. Much to her delight, Emily's lids fluttered and her eyes blinked open. She gave her mother a sleepy and disoriented smile. "Well hello," Sharon smiled down at her.

"Hm." Emily closed her eyes again, but managed a sleepy smile. "Hi mom. Miss me?"

They were the first coherent words that she had heard her daughter speak in several days. Sharon blinked back happy tears. "I did, actually. As have quite a few others." She combed her fingers through Emily's hair. "How are you, little bug?"

"Hurts." Emily was having a hard time holding her eyes open. "I'm very tired," she said. "It isn't too bad right now." She recalled the pain that she felt earlier and decided that the current aches that were plaguing her body were very mild in comparison.

"Then go back to sleep," Sharon told her. "No one is planning on going anywhere. We can wait." The backs of her fingers stroked the curve of her daughter's bruised cheek. She smiled as she watched her eyes close again. Sharon waited until she was certain that Emily was once again resting before she lowered herself into the chair on that side of the bed. She crossed her legs and got comfortable, prepared to once again spend the day waiting for her daughter to rejoin the world, but that wait seemed to no longer be quite so long.

Charlie decided to stop by the ICU waiting room before leaving the hospital. He wasn't entirely surprised to find his father present. "Hey." He dropped into a chair across from where Ricky and Andy were seated. "So," he began without preamble, "no offense man, but your dad is a real piece of work."

Ricky snorted into the tall cup of coffee that his mother had brought him. "I could say the same," he replied with a grin, "but in your case it's not exactly a bad thing."

"Thank you," Andy cast a sideways glance at him, "I think. We thought that you had probably already left," he told his son. "Did Jack give you a hard time?" There was a part of him that really hoped that was the case. He was itching to pull that loser aside again. Jack might have been showing up, and was mostly sober, but the fact that he was drinking again was pretty obvious to everyone... including the man's son. Andy figured that Emily would catch on very quickly too, once she was awake and able to focus on something other than her physical pain.

"You know," Charlie explained, "we've got a couple of probies at the station. Young guys... I think one of them is barely even old enough to have his license. I heard him use the word _asshat_ the other day, and I thought... what the hell does that even mean?" He shot a look at Ricky again before continuing. "No offense. Now I know."

"Well," Ricky said slowly. "I could throw a fit, but I am not exactly feeling the urge to do more than just sit right here and continue drinking my coffee." He lifted his cup and took a very long sip. He stretched his legs out in front of him and considered his next words carefully. His mother had raised them to respect both of their parents, even if there was often very little to respect about their father. "The sad thing," he said, "is that there is really nothing that I can say right now to defend him. I could, but I would just be making excuses, and that does nothing but enable him." Ricky sighed. He glanced at Andy before he continued for Charlie's benefit. "My mother did enough of that when we were younger, and then we all realized that dad's biggest enabler is himself. No one else really has to contribute. For a long time she felt responsible for him, because of that, and I think a lot of it was just guilt. Emily and I have covered for him in the past because of that. We didn't want to make mom feel worse about all of it because we were not as clueless about it as she hoped we were. Now we all more or less agree that the only person responsible for dad's actions is dad. Well," Ricky shrugged. "Most of us. Emily tries, but dad always manages to bring her around."

"Daddy's little girl." Charlie nodded. "I am familiar with it." His head inclined. "Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing," he added, when his father shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "Different situation. Nicole hasn't been duped or made to feel guilty. This guy is a grade-A _jerkface_ , as Emily would say." He flashed a grin. "Remind me to point out to her that she's been exhibiting classic signs of transference all this time. It's not me that she's unhappy with. It's the _asshat_."

"That particular name might not go over so well with Emily," Ricky pointed out, "but duly noted."

"Or Sharon," Andy warned them both. "Whatever you plan on doing, make sure that you keep it below the radar." For all that she might say she was trying to remain neutral when it came to her children's relationship with their father, Andy knew better. She would never be able to stay out of it completely; it simply wasn't who she was. Protecting them was too much a part of her, and especially when it came to protecting them from being hurt by Jack's actions. On the other hand, Sharon might be well and truly done with that man, but she would still expect a certain level of behavior from her kids where he was concerned. Even if Jack had probably earned every ounce of their disdain and mistrust. This was something that Andy knew a little bit about, and he had certainly not had anyone to stand between him and the opinions that his children had expressed of him over the years. It wasn't easy, and every word had hurt, but he wondered if maybe he needed to hear it. If that was the case, maybe Jack needed to hear it too.

"Or Ray-dar," Ricky added with a smirk.

"You need more sleep Computer Nerd." Charlie pushed himself out of the chair. "I'm going to get out of here. I'll check on the Princess again later. See ya around, old man."

Andy waited until his son had gone. He realized that Sharon's was staring at him. He shrugged. "Gets it all from his mother."

"Uh huh." Ricky's eyes narrowed. "Do me a favor. When or if you decide to pop the question, give us time to come up with a suitable way of dealing with that." He jerked his head in the direction that Charlie had gone.

"Fair enough." Andy agreed, not that marriage had been discussed, and he was not at all blind to his son's habits or personality quirks. "You understand of course," he continued, "it took more than twenty years for your mother and I to stop sniping at one another."

"Not helping," Ricky told him. "Maybe it won't be that bad. We can handle each other in small doses." That seemed to go for all of them where Charlie was concerned, even Nicole.

Andy laughed. A wide, crooked grin curved his mouth. "Yeah, I used to think the same thing about a prissy little sergeant that used to ride my ass. I could never quite figure out how she kept getting promoted and I kept getting written up." His dark eyes sparkled with amusement. "Still a mystery, but here we are, and she's less of a pain in my ass." Andy lifted his cup in a salute to the younger man. "You kids are going to have to figure this out," he said more seriously. "Your mother and I have done our part. If you just can't get along, at least be civil."

Ricky's brow arched. He gave the other man a look that was almost a perfect imitation of his mother. "The guy just called my dad an _asshat_ and I let him walk out of here. Who's not being civil?"

"Point taken." Andy sat back in his chair. "Although, he's not exactly wrong..."

"Yeah." Ricky still didn't completely disagree either. "I know." He looked around the waiting room. They were actually alone for once. "Speaking of popping the question," he began. "Now might be a good time for us to discuss your intentions..."

"Oh hell." Andy lowered his face into his hand. He had known this day would come eventually. Here they were and with no rescue in sight. Where was Rusty when he needed him?

 **-TBC-**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Emily stared at the walls of her room. Was there any color more boring or depressing than beige? She thought that she might have preferred brown or even black. She supposed that hospitals were not exactly places that people went to enjoy interior design, but if someone was going to be stuck in one, why not give them something to look at that wasn't… well, in a word, hideous. Emily thought that it could also be said that she was being completely uncharitable, but she could not help where her mind had wandered to while she was left to convalesce all alone.

It was late afternoon. Now that she was tucked into a room on the surgical floor, a good two levels away from the ICU where she was previously residing, her almost around the clock companions had gone off to rest, or catch up on work. At least, that was the case with her mother. Emily had assured her that she was okay. That she didn't need to remain by her side for hours on end, that she could go and step back in to her life. That had, of course, resulted in a conversation in which Emily had been informed, in no uncertain terms, that she was her mother's life, along with her brothers, naturally. Her mother had gone, however, not because she had wanted to, but it had become necessary. She was needed at work, and after nearly a week of spending almost every hour of her time with her daughter, Sharon had acknowledged that now that Emily was stable, she could allow her attention to be shifted back toward her professional responsibilities.

Emily lifted her gaze to the ceiling tiles above her. She tried to find patterns in the sporadic arrangement of the dots that covered the tiles. She smiled as she thought of the single text and two phone calls that she had already received from her mother, and she had only been gone for three hours. She was rather predictable, and amusingly so. Emily was glad for that, and wouldn't want her any other way. She was finding little enjoyment in her exploration of the ceiling tiles, however, and sighed as she closed her eyes instead.

She was usually happy to be a solitary creature. She spent most of her days surrounded by people; dancers and choreographers, ballet directors and dance teachers. There were the stage managers and designers, the lighting and music crews. Then at night, when she performed, there was the audience and the fans. There were theater members and foundation directors. Being a dancer was about more than just the art, there was a certain aspect of it that was also about business. It could be exhausting, but she loved it. Emily also enjoyed being away from it, or at least all of the people. When she had first moved to New York, she had roommates. They had gotten along well, but Emily was happy now to be on her own. She marked her success as a professional dancer by being able to afford her own third floor walk-up in Manhattan. Emily had hobbies outside of her dancing. She liked to shop and go to shows, but she also enjoyed spending hours browsing in the library or tucked in a corner of a coffee shop reading. She liked to walk through the park on sunny days, and when she was between performance seasons at the theater, she enjoyed her early morning runs.

These were all activities that she liked to do by herself, though. Emily was also just as happy to spend a quiet day or night at home. She had no problem cooking for one, and could be just as delighted to curl up with a book and a glass of wine on her sofa, as to wrap herself in a thick, soft blanket and spend a day binge watching a favorite show or genre of movies. That wasn't to say that Emily didn't enjoy spending time with friends, or family, because she did. She loved it when Ricky or her mother could visit her. They could shop, or explore the city, go to museums and have a wonderful time. Emily could simply find contentment in her solitude, and it was something that she was unable to find at present.

Her eyes opened again and she cast a miserable look toward the wide window on the far side of the room. It was a bright and sunny afternoon. She would have liked to have been out in it. That was something that she missed about California, the bright and cheerful sunshine. It would have been a beautiful day to find a spot on the beach and spend it soaking up the sun. Emily's gaze drifted to her legs and she wondered when she would be able to do that again. A long, wide surgical bandage stretched the length of her right leg, from knee to ankle, on the outside of her calf. The cut was deep and had required stitches, but the surgeon assured her that there would be no lasting damage. Emily had seen the cut when the nurse had changed her bandages. It was painful, and unsightly, but so was the incision that curved her left side, and the second smaller incision that was shaped like a half crescent and lay just to the right of her stomach. She was lucky to be alive, but she had a fairly good idea that her bikini days were over.

Emily was more worried about the bright pink cast that was now encasing her left leg and foot. It was a simple break, they told her. It was clean, and had only impacted the fibula, the small bone in her leg. It would heal. At her age and as healthy as she was, the orthopedist told her that there was no reason for her to believe that her leg would not be as strong as it had been before.

The problem was her ribs. Two of them were broken on her right side. It was the most painful thing that Emily had ever experienced. More to that point, both of her surgeries had required the surgeon to cut through muscle. If her ribs healed correctly, and her muscles knit together like they should, Emily knew that she would spend weeks, maybe months, conditioning her body to stretch and bend, and move the way that it had before. Ballet was not only about her feet and legs. Her entire body had to be in top physical condition. She had been dancing her entire life, and finally she had achieved the career that she always dreamed of.

Emily was not afraid of hard work or physical therapy, but she was not blind to the dark side of her profession. There was competition. Other dancers who were younger and just as eager as she had once been were just waiting to step forward and fill her place. The dance company would not have to renew her contract. If they believed that her return was questionable, which it was, they could fill her place. It was a very harsh reality that Emily wished that she could stop thinking about. She knew that she was putting the cart way before the horse, but try though she might, those thoughts would not stop plaguing her. She was aware that it was probably not what she should be focused on after only being out of the ICU for a day, but there was nothing else to capture her attention. Her mother had gone back to work, at least for a little while, and Ricky had gone back to their mother's condo to take a shower and get some sleep. He had been her evening companion, leaving her only when visiting hours dictated, but always close at hand if she needed him. Emily had no idea where her father had gotten off to, and she wasn't sure that she should really think about that either. She had not seen him since she was moved out of the ICU. Emily chose to believe the fact that he probably had a lot of work to catch up on too.

Emily was drawn out of her thoughts by a knock on her door. Her head snapped up and she looked toward the entrance to her room. "Come in." When the door pushed inward and a familiar blond head poked around it, a smile curved her lips. "Hey."

Rusty wasn't sure if Emily was going to feel up to having visitors or not. People had been surrounding her for days, even when she was unconscious, but between school and not exactly feeling great himself, Rusty hadn't managed to be at the hospital during those times when she was awake. Now that she was in her own room, he thought maybe he would be able to finally see her. "Hi." He walked into the room, Gus behind him. They lingered near the door. "Do you mind if we hang out for a minute?" The way that her face lit up upon seeing them gave him a little hope that she wouldn't mind being bothered for a little while.

"Please." Emily was relieved to see them both. She waved them into the room and to the chairs beside her bed. There was more seating in this room, and it was far more comfortable than the small, hard chairs that had been in her ICU room. Emily smiled brightly at both of them, but noticed very quickly that Gus wouldn't meet her gaze. Her smile slowly melted into a quiet sigh. She looked both boys over. They were bruised and battered, but seemed okay, except for Rusty's broken arm. "Well aren't we a matched set?" She joked, indicating his neon green cast.

"If we have to wear them for six weeks, we might as well enjoy them." Rusty's cast only covered his arm from just below his elbow to his hand. He took a seat in the chair nearest the bed. "Have you ever seen a plain white, or blue cast at the end of six weeks?" He made a face. It was something that he had googled while he was still in a splint. "Mom and I agreed, _ew_."

Emily laughed, and ignored the pain that it caused her. "I was wondering about that." She would have expected something a lot more muted from her mother. Now she understood. "How are you both?" Their bruises had started to fade, and were now more yellow and green than blue and purple. "Everything okay?" She looked between the two boys. "Gus?"

"Yeah. We're great." He was standing behind Rusty's chair. He rested his hands against the back of it and leaned forward. "It's you that we were worried about."

"I'm okay." Emily smiled at them again. "Really, stop worrying. Everything is healing the way that it is supposed to now. It still hurts a lot, but I'm here." She continued to watch Gus look everywhere but at her and sighed again. "Gus." The familiar tone of her voice, one that she had inherited from her mother drew his attention. "Don't do that. This is not your fault." She smiled warmly at him. "I am actually thankful that you were driving. Have you ridden with Rusty?"

"Hey!" Her youngest brother scowled at her. He understood what she was doing, but he took exception to the dig at his driving. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"That you follow to closely, you drive too fast, and the turn signal is not an optional accessory." Emily rolled her eyes at him. "Rusty, you are a typical LA driver. You scare the crap out of me."

"At least I drive." He made a face at her. Rusty slumped down in his chair, but when Gus chuckled, he didn't feel so bad about it anymore. He had a hard time cheering his boyfriend up the last few days. He couldn't seem to convince Gus that he had not almost killed his sister.

"I can drive." Emily lifted her chin. "I simply choose not to. I live in New York. There is no reason for me to own a car. I usually only drive when I'm here." She had rented a car during her last two visits, since Rusty now had ownership of the Volvo that their mother had kept for them. Emily had learned how to drive in that car. It seemed only right that Rusty have it now. It had survived all three of them, well, it had _almost_ survived all three of them. "All joking aside, we just cannot predict the really bad drivers of the world. Gus, you didn't do anything wrong, and even if Rusty or I had been driving, the same would be true. That other guy was texting, and you know, it happened. We can't go back and change it, can we? Unless one of you tells me that you have, in some way, managed to invent a time machine in your closet, I suggest that we all just move on."

Gus shifted where he stood for a moment. He walked around Rusty's chair and sat in the one beside it. "I'm just really sorry that you got hurt," he told her.

"So am I." Emily gestured helplessly. "I'm sorry that we all got hurt. I'm sorry that two people died that night. I'm also really sorry that the man who caused the accident has to live with that now, because he made a bad choice. Do you know what I am not sorry about?"

Rusty shook his head. He was a little amazed at how much like their mother she sounded. It was like everything in life had some lesson to it that they were supposed to learn. "No," he replied, "what?"

"We are all here." Emily looked from him to Gus and back again. "Do not laugh at me Rusty Beck." She pointed a finger at him when he looked away, a smirk already curving his lips. "It's true. It could have been a lot worse, and it wasn't. All three of us are still alive, and even owing part of that to the very arrogant Charlie Flynn is not such a bad thing. I say we mark it off in the win column and be done with it."

"Maybe." Rusty sighed. "But if I had been riding in the front…" She might not have been hurt as badly. It wasn't like he was a dancer. He didn't need to be all graceful and flexible to be a journalist. "Emily, you wouldn't be stuck here all this time when you should be at home—"

"This is home," she said, cutting him off. Emily inclined her head and smiled gently at him. "Rusty, don't worry about it. It's going to be okay." She didn't know that for sure, and that was something that she was just worrying about. Emily shrugged. She wouldn't allow them to carry that burden for her. "What if you were riding in the front? Hm? You aren't in the same physical condition that I am. It might have been worse for you. Your legs are longer. You could have been hurt more severely. You may not have been hurt at all. There is really no way for us to know." She paused for a moment and sighed. "I don't want you to be upset about this. Either of you." She looked at Gus again before her gaze moved back to Rusty. She stared at him. "I am serious. This, none of it, is for you to worry about. It means a lot to me that you are, but Rusty, you're missing the point in all of this. I am the oldest. It is my job to protect you. It is my job to worry about _you_. I know that I haven't been very good at that, and I am sorry."

"What?" Rusty stared back at her, wide-eyed. He shook his head. "No, Emily…" He sat forward in his chair and leaned toward the bed. " _No_. You haven't done anything wrong. Why would you even say that?"

"The same reason that you did." She explained. "Guilt is a very powerful emotion." She tipped her head back. "So now that we are all agreed that no one did anything wrong, how about we talk about something else?"

Gus was slowly shaking his head. He ran a hand over his face. "I thought Ricky was screwing with us," he explained. "But he totally wasn't. There really are two of them. It's not a bad thing, I really like your mom, but wow."

"Exposure." Emily told him. "I've had more time with her. The first three years of my life I had her all to myself, and then she started collecting little brothers." She sighed heavily. It made her ribs throb, but Emily continued to ignore the pain. She wanted to put off her next dose of pain medication for as long as possible. She didn't want to spend all of her time sleeping. She felt like she had done enough of that. "I kept asking for a pony."

"So then," Rusty said carefully, "I shouldn't ask for a new computer?"

"Definitely not." Emily smirked at him. "Next thing we know, mom will marry this guy and we'll be stuck with Charlie forever."

"There are worse things that could happen." Charlie was standing in the open doorway grinning at them. "So is this how you all really spend your time? You just sit around and malign me when I'm not here? That's cold." Charlie pushed away from the door and strolled into the room. "Hey squirt. Gus," he nodded to the two boys. He stopped on the other side of Emily's bed and smiled crookedly down at her. "Check out who is still alive. I'm impressed, Princess."

"Well I didn't want to see a grown jerkface cry," she shot back at him. "I knew that you would miss me. Your life was boring and incomplete before I came along."

"I wouldn't go that far." Charlie sat on the edge of the bed. He was careful of her bandaged leg as he settled himself beside her hip. He lifted the iPad that he was carrying and wriggled it at her. "Got you something."

Her brows climbed in surprise. "You got me a tablet?" Emily wasn't sure if she was disturbed or touched. "Why?" She chose to be cautious instead.

Charlie rolled his eyes at her. "Relax little Diva. It was Nicole's idea. She thought that you might be bored. Tommy has chicken pox, so she's stuck at home with the kids. I told her that I would take care of it." He paused before he added. "She's sorry that she couldn't come and see you."

"Oh." Emily felt badly for giving him a hard time. Whatever she might think of him, Emily could not deny that he was a good brother and a decent uncle. He didn't miss recitals and he was there whenever Nicole needed him to be. They were close, just as she and Ricky were close, and now Rusty too, she supposed. "Thank you." Emily accepted the tablet with a smile. "That was really thoughtful of both of you. I will call Nicole later, but please tell her that it's okay. I completely understand."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I will. So you're looking a lot better. Less _Death Becomes Her_ and more _Nightmare Before Christmas_." He grinned crookedly again. "How are you feeling?"

Emily rolled her eyes at him. She didn't feel so bad about that hard time anymore. "Better," she said. "It still hurts like crazy, but I don't feel like my body is just one, huge, exposed nerve ending anymore." She turned the iPad around in her hands and pressed the on button. Her dark eyes were sparkling when she looked at Charlie. "I'm not going to discover your porn stash on this, am I?"

"I thought you could use something to keep you amused." His brows bobbed up and down. "There are a couple of classics on there. _Naughty Nurses Three_ for example. How have you lived if you haven't seen that?"

"Who says that I haven't?" Emily flashed a cheeky smile at him. She swiped the device on and found, instead, that it was almost devoid of any apps. Except for one. She rolled her eyes toward him. "Ballet Barbie Dress-up Time?"

"Right!" Charlie held his hands up. "Who knew?" He waved a hand at the tablet. "I hooked you up with the hospital WiFi password, and I'm not talking about the one for the public. You'll find that the connection is better. I figured one of your brothers could hook you up with everything that you needed." He could operate his smartphone, and he knew how to type and use a computer, but that was where he drew the line. Charlie preferred to exist _inside_ the world, rather than be trapped in a digitalized version of it.

Emily was still shaking her head at him. "Thank you," she said again. She lifted the tablet. "This is really great. You and Nicole honestly didn't have to do this." It wasn't as if their parents were actually married, even if they all suspected that it was only a matter of time.

"Don't thank me." Charlie stood up. "I'm just the messenger. I'll be sure to tell Nicole that you're doing a lot better. So listen, I have to go to work. I just wanted to drop that off. Frankly, I don't get why you can't just watch TV like a normal person, but Nic says that you like to read or something. Weirdo."

"Words are important." Emily said. "I know that it's a difficult concept for a Neanderthal like you to understand, but not everything is all about football and Nascar."

Charlie pointed a finger at her. "The only thing more important than football is baseball, and where do you get the idea that I like Nascar? I prefer real cars, Princess."

"Oh, my mistake." Emily tilted her head at him. Her smile was entirely too sweet. "I forgot that you're a bona-fide grease monkey. So tell me something, Flynn, did you actually get an A in auto-shop or is this just a weekend hobby?"

"No more than your dancin' shoes are little Raydor." Charlie winked at her as he turned. "I'll check on you again later. Try to stay alive, and don't give the nurses a hard time. They don't get paid to put up with your attitude."

Emily watched him go with a smirk. When she turned back to look at her brother, she found him and his boyfriend staring at her. Emily's expression slowly faded. "What?" Her brow arched. "If he's going to be our brother he has to be able to keep up."

Rusty looked at Gus. "There are definitely two of them," he said. "This whole time we were worried about Mom."

"We shouldn't have been," Gus replied. He feigned a heavy sigh. "It wasn't Sharon that was going to adopt him. Emily did it." His lips pursed while he pretended to think about it. "So, there's just one thing we need to figure out."

"Yeah." Rusty looked at Emily again. "Who is going to break it to Ricky? He's not the oldest brother anymore… Poor guy just keeps getting slammed."

"You have a point," Emily told them. "But I have it all figured out." She tapped her fingers against the edge of the tablet. "You see, it's Charlie and then me, then Nicole, then Ricky and you." Her head inclined. "Or well, if you want to get really technical about it, there's Ricky, Gus, and then you, but that's getting too complicated," she waved a hand at them. "In any event, I think I can sell it to Ricky this way. Basically, that makes you two the youngest, and now that there are more of us, it's really more significant."

"Uh huh." Rusty wasn't buying it. He squinted at her. "Doesn't that make Charlie the oldest?" He waited for her to catch on to what he was saying. When she winced, he smiled. "Isn't the oldest supposed to be the most responsible?"

Emily sighed. "Okay, so there are a few specifics that I am still working on ironing out. I am sure that Charlie has a lot of good qualities that make him responsible… that we just haven't seen before."

"Yeah, sure," Rusty grinned at her. "I will let you explain that to Ricky. Just consider it… your way of looking out for me."

"Oh little brother." Emily smiled widely at him. "Believe me when I tell you that it will be my pleasure." He had never had a younger sibling to torment. Emily decided that Ricky had been incredibly lax in teaching Rusty how these things worked. Since it looked as if she was going to be staying in Los Angeles, at least for a little while longer, she decided it was up to her to bring him up to speed. It would give her something else to think about in the days to come. Emily would welcome the distraction. It was time to start with lesson number one. "So, Rusty, that guy that was with you the other day. Before the accident. The blond one, what was his name again?"

Rusty watched her flutter her lashes and smile entirely too sweetly. He pushed out of his chair and took a few steps back. "Oh god. Emily! Ew!"

She donned an innocent expression. "What? I just wondered what your friend's name was." Rusty was having none of it, however. She tilted her head. A delighted smile curved her lips while she watched him pace the room as he told her, in absolutely certain terms, that she was not allowed to date any of his friends. She decided very quickly that seeing the guilt completely leave Gus's face as he laughed, really laughed, was the best thing ever.

Emily laid the iPad on the mattress beside her and clasped her hands together against her stomach. Her life might be at it's most difficult point currently, and she had no idea what was going to happen with her career, but where her brothers were concerned… things were about to become very amusing. At the very least, she would be grateful to them for providing a welcome diversion… even if they didn't know that was what they were doing. She might be able to easily find contentment in her solitude, but she didn't have to be alone now. She was thankful for that.

 **-TBC-**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

"Is this all of it?" Sharon looked down at the folder in her hands. It was painfully thin. There were only a few pages. She flipped through them quickly. She was already very familiar with the contents. Her gaze moved back to the monitors in front of her and the young man that was seated in their interview room. Speaking to this particular suspect had been more upsetting and painful than most. She had not questioned him in an official capacity, however. She simply wanted to gauge the level of his current emotional state. Sharon was satisfied with his answers.

"That's it." Provenza took a seat beside her. He waved a hand at the file. "I had Tao run it himself. We didn't trust those other yahoos. He's got no priors, no history of any connection to any illegal activities. There's a single speeding ticket from about four years ago, and a couple of parking tickets a year ago. All were paid, on time. He has a Bachelor's degree from USC, but he's working part-time at a financial firm downtown. His main source of income is waiting tables at _La Cierna_."

"That is an upscale restaurant in Santa Monica," Buzz told her. "I looked at the transcripts from his previous interviews. The tips are better than what he is making in entry-level positions. The part-time work is for experience."

"Yes." Sharon's lips pursed in thought. "He would be wanting to use that to gain a better position later. Ricky did the same thing. He worked as a free-lance programmer while he and his friends were trying to get their company off the ground, and delivered pizzas for extra income." She tapped the edge of the folder against her palm while she watched the young man. She had watched the videos from his earlier interrogation too. When he was initially brought in he was nervous, fidgeting in his seat. Now he sat with his shoulders slumped. The blue of his county jail jumpsuit did little to increase his pallor. He was solemn. Sharon sighed as she stood up. Her attention shifted to those that were behind her. Lieutenant Flynn and DDA Hobbs were leaning against the cabinet against the wall. "Andrea?"

The DDA shook her head slowly. She lifted her gaze from the monitors to focus on the Captain. "Nathan Gregory has already pled guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter. He is going before the judge for sentencing tomorrow. The maximum sentence for that is sixteen months. I am really not entirely sure what it is that you would like for me to do, Captain. Mister Gregory is going to jail."

"I am not discounting that," Sharon explained. "I simply think that there is something more that we can do here." She lifted the file in her hands. "This young man has never been in trouble before. I am not saying that he doesn't deserve to be punished now, he has caused a great deal of pain to a number of people, but there was no intent. This act was not completely malicious."

"Wasn't it?" Andy gave her a hooded look. They had discussed this at length. He knew that Sharon had been thinking long and hard about this decision. She had spent several sleepless nights and had gone over it a number of times before she decided to get involved. He was still playing devil's advocate, giving her the point of view that he knew that she needed. One of them had to be the _bad cop_ and he had no problem playing that role for her. "The guy picked up his phone while he was driving. He knew better and he did it anyway. Two people are dead and several others are hurt."

"It was unfortunate, yes." Sharon turned and tossed the folder down on the electronics table. She folded her arms over her chest and sighed. This was the young man who had caused the accident that injured her daughter. The accident had almost resulted in three fatalities. They were very lucky that Emily was not more seriously injured and that her doctors were able to save her life. When Sharon thought of her daughter and the pain that she was experiencing, when she thought of her son's broken arm and all of Gus's bruises and guilt, she was furious with this young man. She wanted to punish him. She wanted to drive him to the prison and lock him away herself, but there was another voice in her head, one that spoke of understanding and mercy. It was a voice of experience that told her that this young man was not one of the criminals that they typically dealt with.

Sharon shook her head as she turned once more. She looked at the monitors again. "Mister Gregory has taken responsibility for his actions. He pled guilty to the charges that were placed in front of him. I agree that he deserves to be punished, legally, for his actions. What I do not want to see here is a case where this young man is used as an example to others. Nathan Gregory has never been in trouble before. The text message that he sent that night was to his elderly mother, informing her that he was going to be late. Could he have picked a better time to do that, yes he could have. He made a terrible mistake, and many people have paid for that mistake. He has ruined his life and many others, but I think that sixteen months might be a little harsh."

Andrea followed her gaze to the monitors. She had spoken to the young man a few times since his arrest. He was remorseful. He wasn't asking for leniency. He agreed that he was in the wrong and he was prepared to pay the price for that. She stood up with a sigh. "Okay," she said. "I will see what I can do. I will speak to my boss and we will talk to the other victims' families. If they are willing to agree," She looked at the Captain, "and that is a very big _if_ , then I will do what I can to push for the minimum and an extended probation period."

"I would appreciate that, Andrea." Sharon pulled her gaze away from the monitors. "There has been enough pain; for everyone that is involved. For whatever it is worth, Emily agrees."

"Forward her statement to me," Hobbs said. "That will help." She picked up her briefcase. "Now if you will excuse me, I do have more hardened criminals to deal with. I will let you know how it turns out."

"You should already have it." Sharon clasped her hands in front of her. "Thank you, Andrea."

"Don't thank me yet." The DDA didn't know that there was anything that she could do, even if she understood the reasoning for it.

Sharon watched her go. She turned back to the monitors for a moment. Her lips pursed. She considered all that she was asking. She still felt that it was a good idea, despite the doubts of the others. "It is not enough to serve the law," Sharon said quietly. "Whenever possible, we have an opportunity to help others, even those who have broken it. Compassion, gentlemen, that is what we are seeking here."

"He killed two people," Provenza reminded her. "He might not have intended it, but he did it. That's going to be a hard one to sell, even for you." He pushed out of his chair. "I'm not all that sure that I could do it."

"Emily wants to move on with her life," Sharon told him. "She doesn't want this hanging over her head. It does her no good to be angry with this young man. He's only a kid himself. We tell our children to be careful when they are driving, but we cannot be with them every second. They speed and they text, they follow too closely, and they do not use their turn signals." Sharon shook her head. "He deserves the punishment, but there is nothing that we can do that equals the amount of punishment that he is heaping upon himself right now."

"Yes," Buzz said quietly, "but Rusty does not text and drive." He looked up at her. There was understanding in his blue gaze. He offered a small smile. He knew that she was thinking of the mother, and how easily this could happen with one of her sons. It was a lapse in judgment, one that young people often had, but without such dire consequences.

"No he does not," Sharon replied, "and now he never will. Neither does Gus, and I have never known Ricky too either. I am incredibly angry at this young man, Buzz, but his life is already ruined. This is something that he will live with forever. In the end, it doesn't matter what I think. I am concerned about Emily's piece of mind. She has her recovery to focus on."

"How is that going?" Provenza decided to change the subject. The Captain had made up her mind and whether they agreed or not, she was moving forward with it. Flynn had warned him about this. He knew that she had wavered on it. It was a line that she was standing on, and she didn't want to step too far to either side of it. He didn't envy her that, which was why they had decided to help.

"Hm." Sharon shrugged. "She had her first physical therapy treatment yesterday. Emily is not enjoying life at the moment, but she is getting stronger." She had been home for two days. Sharon was grateful to have her there. Emily was struggling, but she was determined. She was also alive, and Sharon was hanging on to that. She ached for her girl and all that she was going through, but she was grateful to still have her.

Andy pushed off the cabinet that he was leaning against. He walked over and opened the door. He held it for Sharon as she left the electronics room. They would have Mister Gregory sent back to County. Sharon had wanted to speak to him, and she had done that now. He still wasn't convinced that it was a great idea, but there was no changing her mind when it was really set on something. "She's having a hard time with the crutches because of the broken ribs and the incisions, but she is supposed to be moving around. It's not fun."

"No, it is not." Sharon strode into the murder room with the others behind her. "It is going to be a slow and painful process, but Emily is determined. The boys are with her today." Ricky had gone home for a few days to deal with some work concerns, but he was back in town. He could work just as easily from the condo as he could from his apartment in Palo Alto. Emily was in no shape to go back to New York just yet, and it would probably be several weeks before that could happen. Officially she was on leave, but Sharon knew that Emily was worried about the status of her contract with the dance company. "I worry," she added, "that she may be pushing herself too hard and—" She stopped speaking when her gaze landed on the two people seated on the other side of the murder room. They were not visitors that she had expected.

Andy almost walked into Sharon when she stopped directly in front of him. He gripped her upper arms to keep from stumbling in to her. Then he looked over her shoulder to see what had caught her attention so acutely. Emily was seated at his desk with her leg propped on a chair. "No," he drawled, "She wouldn't do that. I bet she's taking it easy right now."

"That is no good." Provenza stopped beside his partner. His eyes narrowed. He was not focused on the Captain's daughter so much as he was focused on the reason that she was there. He drove his elbow into Flynn's side and jerked his head at the young man that was seated on the desk beside Emily. "What the hell is that?"

His brow arched. Andy looked down at his partner. "I'm not sure yet. I don't think it's anything to be worried about." He squinted at his son. "Charlie, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, ya know," he had the bobble head that was on his dad's desk in his hand, turning it around. "Just hanging out. What is this?" He held it up. "You know this is kind of disturbing, right?" It had a woman's picture taped to the face.

"So many things make sense now." Emily told him. "Did you know that you have inherited your father's sense of strange obsessive behavior?"

"Well I wouldn't call it obsessive." Charlie placed it back on the desk. "Weird, definitely, but not obsessive. At least it isn't a bobble head of himself. That would worry me."

"I can understand your concern." Emily wiggled in the chair. "We should discuss ergonomics while we are at it. How does he sit in this thing? You know, I'm kind of worried about the guy. I think we need an intervention."

"Yeah." Charlie's head inclined. "I'm not sure it would work, though. He's a real hard ass."

Sharon blinked at the pair. She took a few careful steps forward. Her hands slipped into the pockets of her blazer while she studied them. "Emily, what are you doing here?" Her daughter was supposed to be at a physical therapy appointment, and following that, she was to be resting.

Their heads turned toward her. Emily looked up at her mother with wide, beguiling brown eyes. She smiled slowly. Her expression became one of abject innocence. "Today is the day, right? You were going to speak to Nathan Gregory? I wanted to know how it went."

"Emily," Sharon gave her daughter a pointed look. "I told you that I would take care of that situation. It is not for you to worry about. It has been handled as well as it can be. The rest is up to the judge. Now, why are you not at home? I thought you were supposed to have physical therapy today." It was more of a statement than a question; she knew perfectly well what her daughter was meant to be doing.

"Rusty has a test," Charlie said. "Ricky had some conference, web call thing that he couldn't rearrange. Emily asked Nicki to take her, but Nicki is in Sacramento this week for work. I had a day off," he had the odd, snake and frog statue in his hands now. Charlie was frowning as he turned it over in his hands. "Princess called, so I figured if she could suck it up and ask for help, I could toss her a reprieve."

"Wow." Emily looked up at him. "That is a pretty big word for you. I would like to remind you, again, that you were the last person that I called." She narrowed her eyes at the unusual figurine in his hands. " _What_ is that? Oh my god, is it eating the frog?"

It was the weirdest and most disturbing thing that Charlie had ever seen. He pushed it toward her with a smirk. "Cool, huh?" When Emily leaned away from him, nose wrinkling, he decided that he should get one too. "I bet it comes in different colors. I could probably get you one in blue and purple. It would match your bruises." He wiggled it at her again.

"What is wrong with having a bobble head?" Provenza wanted to know. He was still stuck on the obvious insult in that statement. He smacked his partner's arm with the back of his hand. "Can't you do something with him?"

"Well it is a little strange," Andy replied. "It's a bobble head of yourself, on your own desk. Most people have pictures of their families. You look at yourself. How can you not think that is weird?"

"It's better than looking at toys and ferocious reptiles," Provenza shot back with a scowl. "For that matter, at least my desk is clean!" He waved a hand at the surface of his partner's desk. There were files spread out on one side and a stack of them on the other, behind where his son was seated.

"Half of those are yours!" Andy scowled at him. Somehow Provenza's paperwork always ended up on his desk before it was filed away. It was part of the weird obsession he had with not having anything on his desk that didn't belong there. For some reason the man's paperwork had been included in that classification.

Buzz cleared his throat as he placed a cup of coffee in front of the Captain. When she took it from him, he gave her a long look. Then he looked pointedly at the Lieutenants behind them before turning his attention to the bickering young people in front of them. "I thought you might need this. Black, no cream, no sugar."

"Thank you." Sharon wrapped both hands around it. She drew a breath and let it out slowly. She recalled, all too clearly, Andy telling his son that he should find his own Provenza right after he moved back to Los Angeles. She felt a strong sense of disturbance at the fact that he seemed to have done just that. She rubbed her lips together. "Keep them coming."

He offered her a small smile. Buzz's blue eyes were sparkling. "Yes ma'am."

Sharon exhaled slowly as she turned back to her daughter and Andy's son. "I appreciate your help, Charlie. Emily, you could have called me. I would have been glad to accompany you to your appointment, or find someone else to do so. That does not," she continued, "explain why you are _here_."

Charlie and Emily looked at one another. He shrugged at her. She was on her own. Emily rolled her eyes at him. "I already explained that mom; I wanted to know how the meeting with Nathan Gregory went. Besides, I've spent a lot of time at home. Or in the hospital. Or going back and forth between those two places. I needed a change of scenery." She pointed a finger at Charlie without looking at him. "If that thing comes near me again," she warned, indicating the snake figurine that he was still holding.

"I just wanted to watch you lecture her," Charlie said. He flashed a crooked grin when his father's girlfriend frowned at him. "It was either that or she threatened to take a cab. I figured that I was the lesser of two evils." He paused for a moment. "Plus I could watch you lecture her." He placed the snake back on the desk and turned around again. Charlie clasped his hands in his lap. "I haven't been here in a while. I like the new offices. Hey, why does the old man's nameplate still say _Priority Homicide_? Is that a weird nostalgia thing or are you guys really that cheap?"

Emily poked his side. "Don't pick on my mother. It's not her fault that your dad doesn't know how to update his belongings. If he doesn't know which division he's in, that's all on him." She lifted her chin at him. "And as if the LAFD is any better. Nicole told me that you still have tape on your locker instead of a nametag. How long have you lived here?"

"I have more important things to deal with than requisitioning a nametag," Charlie shot back. "But it's only been a few months. Your mom has been my dad's boss for years, but I wasn't exactly picking on _her_."

"Of course you weren't." Emily looked away from him. She tilted her head at the man standing with her mother. A genuine smile curved her lips. "Hi Buzz. Thank you for replacing my phone." Her mother had brought it to her while she was still in the hospital, with the explanation that Buzz had gotten it replaced for her. Whatever he had done with her old phone, which was shattered in the accident, they had managed to restore most of her saved files and contacts to the new phone. She even had her same number back. Some of her pictures were lost, but she was grateful to have any of it back.

"You're welcome." Buzz shoved his hands into his pockets. "Lieutenant Tao did most of the work. We're still trying to pull the rest of it off the old phone. It has just been a little busy around here."

"You don't have to do that," Emily said. "What you were able to restore is more than enough. I truly appreciate it."

Sharon turned slowly. Her gaze moved from her daughter to the young man beside her. She cast a pointed look at him over the rims of her glasses. Her brows rose. She watched Buzz blush before he turned away and walked back to his desk. Sharon blinked a few times. She had truly believed when Lieutenant Tao and Detective Sanchez had teased him about working so diligently on Emily's phone situation that they were just giving him the usual hard time. Her eyes narrowed at his back. She was questioning now if they didn't know more about this situation than she did. Sharon looked at Emily again and found her daughter looking down. Her lips pursed. Charlie returned her gaze. He gave her a smug grin. "I am not going to ask," she decided.

"Probably for the best," the younger Flynn said. He swung his legs and let his heels tap against the desk that he was seated on. "I will, though. What kind of name is Buzz anyway?" He directed the question at Emily. He had absolutely no problem poking at her about her little crush. He had originally believed that it was just her way of giving Rusty a hard time, but now he understood why the Runt was so disturbed. There was definitely a mutual appreciation society going on there.

"As opposed to Chucky?" Buzz's voice rose from his desk, where he was suddenly very busy.

" _Why_ do you keep telling people that?" Charlie tossed his hands in the air. "I would never tell people that your name is Emmy," he said. "You know I don't like it."

"That is exactly why I do it." She smiled brightly at him. "I don't understand why it confuses you. You are strange and slightly deranged. It totally fits."

"One of these days, Princess." Charlie hopped off of the desk. "One of these days." He stretched and turned back to the others. "I was going to get her highness something to eat before I took her home. She insisted on coming by here instead. Note to self, doing her favors usually results in me starving to death."

"Yes," Sharon told him. "I can see that you are practically wasting away to nothing. I am sorry, Charlie, for the inconvenience." She shook her head at them. "Emily, I understand your concern in the Gregory matter, but it is being handled. What I would like, right now, is for you to go home and rest. We can discuss it more this evening if you would like to."

Emily knew a dismissal when she heard one. Her mother was being nice about it, but there was only so far that she could push her. Emily sighed. "I understand, Mom. I really just think that if I can help in any way, that I should do that." She agreed with her mother that the young man should be punished, but Emily thought that enough of them were in pain. There did not need to be more of that. Now it was time to heal. She would feel better about that if she could completely put this situation behind her. She would do that when the case was completely closed and she knew that they had done their very best with it.

"I know that you do," Sharon said gently. She walked over and placed her hand on Emily's shoulder. "The truth is, Emily, we have done all that we can now. Whatever happens next is completely out of all of our hands. You can let go now. Focus on your recovery and move on with your life. For all intents and purposes, this chapter of it is over. Okay?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but Emily closed it again. She nodded slowly. "Okay," she said finally. Emily reached for her crutches. She winced as she pulled herself up. She had her mother on one side and Charlie on the other, and several others who had stepped forward to assist if they were needed. "I can do it," she told them. Both of her legs were hurting. The right one was throbbing around the cut, and the left was aching in its cast. Her right side felt like it was on fire and she wanted to pretend that her left side no longer existed. She could not wait until she got all of the staples and stitches out. She could not wait until it no longer hurt to do something as simple as sitting down or standing up.

Neither of them let go of her until she was back on her feet and they were sure that she was stable. Charlie shook his head at her. "You are stubborn as hell, you know that Princess?" He knew that she had to do as much as she could for herself, but he thought that she was pushing herself too hard.

"You are one to talk," Emily muttered. She took a few deep breaths. The combination of pain and pain meds made her nauseous. That was playing havoc with her appetite. She knew that she needed to eat though; Emily hoped she would feel more like it by the time that Charlie got her home. "I promised Rusty that we would stop for burgers," she said. "He should be out of class in an hour."

She didn't even eat meat. Charlie didn't understand the whole vegetarian thing. His father had that going on too, although lately he was dipping his finger back into the carnivore pool because it was better for his health. "We can do that," he said. Charlie knew a place that also had some pretty decent salads. "Only because I told Nicole that I would be nice. If I'm really good," he said, and flashed a devil-may-care grin, "she'll bring me something cool back."

"That's very nice of her," Emily said. "I know she likes bringing all the kids something back when she travels. One day soon, you might actually reach puberty and grow up."

"Why do you have to ruin it like that?" Charlie pouted at her. "I never want to grow up. I'm a Toys-R-Us kid." He kept a hand on her back as they made their way, slowly, toward the exit.

Sharon shook her head at them. "Thank you, Charlie." She had hoped this transition of bickering would fade soon, but she was beginning to see that whatever this relationship was becoming, the bickering was half the fun… at least for the two that were engaged in it. It reminded her of Emily and Ricky as teenagers. She supposed some things just did not change or completely fade with age.

"Don't worry," he said. "I promise not to toss her out on the 101, but I might open the door and roll her out as I pull through the parking lot at your place if she insults my jeep again."

"It's a gas guzzling, environment destroying, piece of—" Emily glared hotly at him when he clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Charlie warned. "What did I say about the jeep? You can call me anything you want, but you leave the jeep alone. I've had it since I was fifteen." His dad had given it to him, and he had fought his mother tooth and nail to be allowed to keep it. She thought that it was an inappropriate vehicle for a teenager, and she was probably right. At the time, Charlie hadn't cared. He wanted wheels, and his dad had some pretty damned cool ones. It was a red jeep wrangler, and he had worked on that engine more times than he could count. The soft-top and flaps around the cab were long gone. It had to remain in his garage when it rained, but luckily, it didn't rain in southern California that much. "Now are you going to be nice," Charlie continued, "or are we going to have to discuss appropriate, adult behavior again?"

He had removed his hand, which was good. Emily was about two seconds away from biting it. "You wouldn't know appropriate adult behavior if it walked up and yanked on your—"

"Alright, cut it out!" Andy scowled at the pair of them. Sharon had given him that desperate look that she usually only reserved for the truly difficult suspects and witnesses. The ones that were annoying her to the point of wanting to get her bean-bag gun out. He pointed a finger at them. "Go home and attempt to behave yourselves," he ordered.

"That's funny coming from you." Charlie smirked at him. "We still on for later?" They had moved the Mustang to his dad's garage because it was bigger. The two of them were supposed to get together and work on it. He had a day off and Andy had planned to cut out of work early, unless they caught a new case.

Andy glanced at Sharon. She nodded, indicating that his time off was still approved. "Yeah," he told his son. "Come by around three. I'll be home by then." It would give him time to run a couple of errands after he left the office.

Sharon watched them leave the murder room. She shook her head as they made their way down the hall. Charlie and Emily were still bickering. She cast a pointed look at Andy before she turned on her heel and walked into her office. This was entirely his doing.

He lifted his hands. Andy shrugged helplessly. "What did I do? At least they're getting along."

Provenza snorted. He shook his head as he went back to his desk. "Introducing the kids was your idea. That makes it all your fault."

Andy's arms dropped to his sides. He rolled his eyes skyward and sighed. "Great." He was going to play hell getting out of this one. How was he supposed to know that Emily and Charlie would decide to be friends? The way he saw it, Sharon had bigger fish to fry. He cast a look at Buzz who was still pretending to be very busy. Andy might have bought it if the guy wasn't sorting through film disks that had already been uploaded and filed two days ago.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. It was time to find the guy a girlfriend, he had been single for too long. As Andy went back to his desk, he made a mental note to pull Rusty aside and find out how much of an issue they were dealing with here. It was either a simple crush, or a potential disaster. Or a case of Emily messing with her youngest brother's head, in which case, he also made a mental note to speak to Ricky about it. Andy figured he could probably get himself out of trouble with Sharon by nipping that one before it could blow up in their faces.

 **-TBC-**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

"Go! Go baby!"

"No! Get it! Come on… YES!"

If there was one thing that Emily would never understand, it was the male response to sporting events. She rolled her eyes at the two grown men that were currently on their feet in front of the television in her mother's living room. She watched while Gus fell onto the sofa with a groan and Charlie lifted his arms in celebration. " _Now_ can we watch something else?" She asked.

"I do not believe this is happening." Gus stared sadly at the television.

"Thems my boys!" Charlie flopped down onto the sofa beside him and reached for the remote. "Yeah, we can turn it Princess. The game is over now." His Dodgers had just defeated the Giants by stopping what could have been a walk-off grand slam home run with bases loaded. It was beautiful. Even he had thought the ball was gone, but the center fielder had managed to leap up against the wall just far enough to grab the ball.

Rusty didn't get it either. Baseball was okay, but it was not his favorite thing. Gus really liked it, and so did most of all the other guys he knew. Sharon liked it too. She _really_ liked it. He cast a sympathetic look at his boyfriend. "Sorry."

"Yeah." Gus sighed. "Me too." He leaned forward and reached for his soda. "That was a pretty good catch," he admitted.

"I really thought it was gone," Charlie told him. "Maybe next time." He slapped the guy on the shoulder and flipped through the channels, looking for something that the Princess would want to watch. Rusty had taken her to physical therapy that morning, but wasn't going to be able to pick her up. Charlie had offered, since he was going to be on that side of town anyway. Rusty and Gus had gotten home shortly after he got there with Emily. Their parents were at work, and he wasn't sure where Ricky had gone. Someone had mentioned a date. Charlie didn't know how the Computer Nerd had managed to score a date while he was simultaneously working and taking care of his sister, but he had to give the guy props for it. "Ah ha! Here we go." Charlie tossed the remote back onto the coffee table with a grin. "Something for the Princess."

Emily rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, because nothing says adult entertainment quite like the _Care Bears_." She bared her teeth at him. "Chucky, if you would like to be able to continue using your arms, please turn it." She had never liked that particular animated series, not even when she was a child.

"What's wrong with the _Care Bears_?" Charlie kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and made no move to do as she asked. "Come on, it's cute. Admit it."

"I will do no such thing." Emily folded her arms across her chest. "You have until the count of three. If I have to get up and come over there…" She cast a pointed look at her crutches.

Charlie leaned back against the sofa. He folded his hands together behind his head and got comfortable. "You and what army, Princess? I'm not scared of you, or your limited mobility devices."

"Oh for crying out loud." Rusty pushed out of his chair and leaned over the coffee table. He snatched up the remote before Charlie could stop him. "I don't want to watch it either," he declared.

"Thank you, Rusty." Emily smiled sweetly at him. "That is why he is my favorite," she told Charlie.

His smile melted. He pouted at her. "That hurts. It really does. He's the one that keeps bailing on you and I'm the one who swoops in every time that he does it to help out… but he's the favorite. Thanks a lot." Charlie dropped his arms to fold them across his chest while he slumped into a good imitation of a sulk.

"What?" Rusty's eyes widened. "I have not bailed on anyone!"

"Relax, Rusty." Emily lifted her chin. "Charles is just being particularly annoying since I do not feel like playing with him today." She had a particularly grueling therapy session that morning. Her body was in far too much pain for her to feel like indulging one of their usual banter sessions. She was barely able to make it back to Charlie's jeep afterward. It was why he was insisting on hanging around. He was worried that she had overdone it and that she might need more help than Rusty could provide. Emily didn't really begrudge him that. She was wondering that too. She had already had her pain medication and it had not taken the edge off of her pain yet. She wondered if Charlie was right, that she was waiting too long between doses. He had warned her a few days ago that the pain medication was to manage her pain, not just stop it. That meant taking it before she was in so much pain that it did not do what it was meant to.

"Princess is just cranky when she doesn't feel good," Charlie said. He leaned forward and picked up his soda. "I think she should take another pill and go lay down." Emily was only taking the minimum dose because she didn't like the way that the narcotic made her feel. Charlie understood her reasoning, and he knew that Rusty did too. All of them had parents that were addicts. He got it, but she was prescribed the medication for a reason and she needed it. The pain was real.

Emily sighed wearily. She closed her eyes. "If I don't feel better soon, I will." She could recognize her limitations. Emily didn't want to spend the entire night in pain. The throbbing was beginning to push the edge of what she was able to cope with. She was just hoping that it wouldn't come to that.

"Can I get you something?" Gus looked around Charlie. Emily hadn't wanted anything to eat or drink when they got back and he understood why. "Maybe some tea? Or a hot compress until your mom gets home? Then you might try a hot shower or a soak." He felt terrible that she was in pain and there was nothing that they could do for her.

"No thank you." Emily smiled at him. "Really guys. I promise, I am okay. It hurts, and I will take more meds in a little while. Don't worry."

"Pale little girls who can barely move shouldn't tell us not to worry." Charlie stood up when a knock sounded at the door. "I'll get it. That's probably the pizza that I ordered. Veggie delight with extra cheese." He tapped the top of Emily's head as he walked by.

She groaned. Emily knocked his hand away. "I told you that I wasn't hungry."

"No, but I am." The large sausage and pepperoni was for him and the other two guys. Charlie pulled the door open and frowned. "You are not the pizza guy." His eyes narrowed at the man on the other side of the door. He had not seen Emily's dad on any of his other visits to the hospital, and he hadn't heard her mention him. He knew she wasn't expecting him either. Charlie held on to the door and blocked the way. The guy had been drinking. He was rumpled and while he might not be exactly wasted, he was definitely tipsy. "Do yourself a favor and go home," he said quietly.

When Jack made the decision to come and see his daughter, he had known that he might run into Flynn. He wasn't expecting to have to deal with the younger version again. His lip curled in disdain. Dealing with his wife or the replacement was bad enough, but being forced to put up with all of the fruits of her poor decisions was not his idea of a good time. "Well if it isn't young Flynn," he said, feigning joviality. "I didn't realize that Sharon had hired a doorman. That's just like her, you know, always looking out for the _little guy_."

"Hey, Jack…" Rusty had come over to see what the issue was. He didn't make it to the door before the older man had shouldered his way into the condo. Rusty frowned. Jack was definitely drinking again. He had hoped for Ricky and Emily's sake that was only a temporary thing brought on by the accident and all of the stress that everyone was dealing with. Addicts didn't need excuses, however. If Jack wanted to stay sober, he would. That was one thing that Rusty had learned over the last year. His biological mother was still fighting her addiction, but she appeared to be really trying this time. Then there was Flynn. With everything that he had been through, all of the pain, fear and stress of his injuries last winter, not once had he picked up a drink or taken a narcotic pain reliever. He dealt in other ways. He went to extra meetings and he helped with the Slider story. Jack wasn't even trying. Rusty felt terrible for his brother and sister. "Sharon isn't here right now," he began.

"Rusty my boy!" Jack clapped him on the shoulder. "That's good. I wasn't looking for Sharon. I'm not in the mood for her lectures, if you know what I mean?" He looked around the room. "Am I right?"

Rusty made a face. He could smell the wine on him. He cast a look at Charlie. The other guy looked ready to toss Jack out of the condo. Rusty shrugged; he didn't really know what to do. He didn't want to make a scene. Sometimes with Jack it was just better to let him have his say. He usually got bored and went away. "So, we were just about to leave," he lied. "Emily has an appointment, and we were going to get something to eat. Maybe you could come by another time?"

"That's exactly why I'm here." Jack walked toward the living room on slightly unsteady legs. "Emily my darling." He gave her a sad look. "Why didn't you tell me that you were out of the hospital already? I've been worried about you."

"Dad." Emily sighed as she pulled herself out of the chair. She leaned heavily on her crutches as she moved around it. She looked him up and down before lowering her gaze to the floor. Her shoulders slumped. "I've been out of the hospital for almost a week. Ricky and I have been calling, but you aren't answering your phone."

"Nonsense!" Jack waved an arm at her. "I would answer if you called me. Has it really been a week?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Well, Emily, I have been very busy. I work hard, you know. There are a lot of people in this city who's Civil Rights are trampled on by law enforcement every day…"

Emily rolled her eyes heavenward. She gritted her teeth. This was going to be another one of those _your mother is a terrible cop_ conversations. Somehow everything that went wrong in the world was always her mother's fault when her father was drinking. There were other times when he just blamed her for it to make himself feel better. Emily would never understand why her father had not loved her mother the way that he always proclaimed to. "Dad…" She didn't feel like doing this with him right now. She was hurting, in more ways than just the physical. Emily rubbed her lips together. "Dad, can we have a visit another time? I don't feel very well right now."

"You don't believe me?" Jack's eyes narrowed. Emily never wanted to hear it when he tried to explain that her mother was not as wonderful or as perfect as she believed her to be. Ricky was just as bad. Sharon had poisoned them both. They didn't trust their own father. Their mother's word was always gold. "Well that's just fine. One of these days, Emily, you are going to open your eyes and realize that your mother is just as fallible as the rest of us! She likes to pretend that she loves the rules and she is so much better than everyone else, but the truth is she's not as pure as she would like the world to see her as."

"Jack." Rusty had heard enough. He moved in between his sister and her father. "I think maybe you should go now." The older man was easily twice his size, maybe even bigger, but he was not going to allow him to insult his mother or to make his sister feel even worse than she already did.

"Oh yes, _you_ are going to tell me to leave my own wife's house!" Jack laughed at the boy in front of him. "Oh wait, that's right, she's my ex-wife. Who do I have to thank for that?" He bared his teeth in a mean smile. "That's right, you are the reason for all of that. Sharon and I had a nice little arrangement until you came along and ruined it all. Why couldn't you be happy with the roof that she was putting over your head? It just wasn't enough, was it? You had to have more. Don't think that I don't know that you always intended to worm your little way into—"

"Dad!" Emily pushed Rusty aside and hobbled forward. "That is enough! The only person to blame for you being tossed out of this family is _you_!" Her eyes flashed, looking almost hazel as her anger grew. "We have given you chance after chance and you keep blowing it. Look at you!" She waved a hand at him. "You can barely stand there. How long have you been drinking again? What is the excuse this time? I know that it isn't me, because you were slurring your words when you called me last month." Emily felt Rusty look at her. "That's right," she told him. "Dad was already drinking before the accident. I don't know how long he has been off the wagon this time." She cast a guilty look at her youngest brother. "I didn't tell mom, or Ricky. He's been busy and mom had a rough year."

" _Mom had a rough year_ ," Jack mocked her. "What about the year that I had! Your mother and those idiots that she works with almost ruined my entire life!" They had gotten him thrown off a great case, and then he was almost sued as a result of it. It had taken every skill that he had to keep that from happening. Jack had almost lost his job at the firm because of it, but managed to pull his ass out of that fire too. "You don't really think your mother was effected by that little accident that Flynn had, do you? She would need to have a heart first!"

He was so caught up in his tirade that he hadn't even realized that he had taken two steps forward. Charlie caught him and pulled him away from Emily. He tossed the guy toward the door and watched him stumble. Charlie didn't care if he went down or not, he was too worried about the daughter. Emily had tried to lean away from her father and had gotten tangled in her crutches. He watched her fall before he could reach her. "Dammit!" He pointed at Emily and glared at her brother and his boyfriend. "Take care of her," he snapped at them. Charlie turned back to the father. "You can get the hell out of here, or I'll call your ex-wife's friends and let them lock your sorry ass up."

Jack caught himself on an end table before he could fall. He straightened. "Oh I'm sure that _Andy Flynn_ would enjoy that too. Tell me something, how does it feel knowing that your old man is the laughing stock of the LAPD?" Jack smirked at him. "Oh yeah, everyone knows he's gotten tangled up with dragon lady. They're all wondering if she has his balls in a vice or if he ever had any to begin wi—"

The blow snapped his head back. Charlie's knuckles stung. He didn't care. At this point, he would gladly spend a night in jail for assault. The son of a bitch had it coming. Charlie grabbed Jack while he was still holding his jaw and turned him toward the door. He opened it with one hand and shoved the older man through it with the other. Charlie slammed it behind him. "Bastard," he hissed.

"Are you okay?" Rusty was kneeling beside his sister. She had an arm wrapped around her middle. There were tears in her eyes. He wasn't sure how much of it was physical pain. Her face was flushed, and he knew that she was embarrassed.

"Come on." Gus was on her other side. He slipped an arm beneath her legs and cradled her with the other. "Let's get you off the floor." He lifted her carefully and settled her on the sofa. "Don't be embarrassed about him," he whispered to her. "He isn't worth it."

Emily shook her head and covered her face with her hand. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, even as the tears began to fall. "I don't understand why he has to be this way."

"Because he's sick." Charlie backed away from the door slowly. He was shaking the ache out of his hand. His knuckles were going to bruise, but he would do it again. He walked over and knelt down beside the sofa. "He's an asshole, but he's also sick. Addiction is a disease. It's like any other kind of illness. He has to want to get help." He pulled Emily's hand away from her face. "Hey," he said quietly. "You okay?"

"My side hurts." She was holding her left side. Emily looked miserably at him. "Sometimes I wonder if he ever loved her. Or if he ever cared about any of us. How screwed up is that?"

"Pretty screwed up." Charlie shrugged. "It is what it is. We can't pick our parents, and we can't control how they act." He sighed. "I used to ask myself that too, you know. My mom got mad at my dad for always staying gone, for being drunk all the time; she tossed him out on his ass. You know what? It worked. He got sober and he stayed that way. Sometimes I'm still pissed off at him for all of that, so I get it. He and my mom still fight, and I hate the things that they say to each other. I don't know why they can't just agree that they both screwed up and leave it at that. The thing is, it's not about us. It's about them. It's not your fault that your dad is an asshole. Mine isn't always full of balloons and puppies either."

"No, he isn't." Emily smiled wetly at him. "I like your dad, Charlie. He has been very good to my mom. He takes care of her, and that isn't easy to do. She's stubborn."

"No? Really?" Charlie made a face at her. "I hadn't guessed." He pulled her hand away from her side and lifted her shirt. Charlie hissed a curse between his teeth. "You tore your incision open, Princess. We're going to have to take you in and get that looked at." She had just gotten her staples out.

"Can't you just put a band-aid on it?" Emily chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't want my mom to know." She looked from him to Rusty and then at Gus before her gaze returned to Charlie. "She doesn't need to know about any of this. Dad won't tell anyone that you hit him because that will mean that he has to admit that he was here, that he was drunk, and that he was causing problems. Mom will just be embarrassed, and she will be hurt. Andy will get angry, and she is going to worry about him doing something stupid. On top of that, I really do not want her worrying about me anymore."

"Emily." Rusty shook his head at her. "You tore your incision. This isn't really something that we can just hide."

"Rusty, she's not sleeping." Emily had been staying in his room. Rusty was camping out on the couch for the duration, or staying at Gus's apartment. "Mom checks on me three or four times a night. She thinks that I don't know, but it's hard to sleep sometimes." Emily was restless at night when the pain medication wore off and she couldn't go back to sleep. She wouldn't take more because she wasn't hurting, so she would read or lay awake thinking about her life in New York while she waited to fall asleep again. "She looks at me like she's terrified that I am going to shatter, and Andy is watching her like he is afraid that she is going to break." She turned her gaze on Charlie. "He's known her longer than we have been alive. If he's worried about her, don't you think that's something that we should worry about too?"

Charlie sat back on his heels. He shared a look with Gus and then Rusty. Finally he shook his head. "Telling your mom what happened here is up to you. I can't make that call. I would, if I were you. Mainly because that lady scares the crap out of me, I've heard the stories; I know what she is capable of. I don't want to ever be on her bad side." Charlie shrugged at her. "My dad looks at her like that because he's lost it. He's completely gone for her. He's dated a lot since he and my mom split up, but not so much in the last few years. Now I get it. I know why. Your mom has a reason to be worried about you Emily. We almost lost you." Charlie lowered his gaze to her side. It was trying to seep, but it wasn't bleeding badly. There was just a small trickle of blood. He balled the edge of her shirt in his hand and pressed it to the wound. "You almost died before we could get you out of that car," he told her. "Then you tried to code on me in the ambulance. One of those broken ribs is all mine," he said. "It's from the CPR."

"I know." Emily laid a hand on his shoulder. He had saved her life. She would be forever grateful for that. She knew that her mother would be too. He was still one of the most annoying people that she knew, but Charlie was not a bad person. He was just a sarcastic pain in her backside. "Please, Charlie? I will let you take me to the clinic, if you really think we should go. I just don't want my mom to know about it." She lifted her gaze to the other two boys. "Okay?"

Gus wasn't comfortable lying to their mother. He ran a hand through his hair. "Emily, I don't know…"

"No." Rusty was putting his foot down this time. The last time his siblings talked him into hiding something from their mother it hadn't gone so well. "We won't tell her that it was because of Jack, because that's the last thing that she needs right now, but I won't hide the fact that you fell from her. I'm sorry, Emily. I won't do it."

She closed her eyes and exhaled quietly. "Fine." Emily didn't have the energy to keep trying to convince them. "We'll just tell her that I tripped. It isn't far from the truth. My usual grace seems to have flown the coop with the introduction of those things." She nodded her head in the direction of her fallen crutches.

"Come on." Charlie stood up. "There's a place not far from here. I doubt it will be all that crowded. We will probably even be back before our parents leave the office." He leaned down helped her up, and then he lifted her. They would tell the guard at the security desk in the lobby to grab the pizza when it arrived. "Grab her purse and the crutches," he told the other two boys, since he didn't expect them to stay behind. "They can probably just steri-strip it," he told Emily, "but I want to make sure."

She sighed at him. "What does that even mean? Speak English."

Charlie made a face as he carried her to the door. "The small bandages that hold it together. So you can look like what you are. Bride of Frankenstein."

"I would rather be the Bride of Frankenstein than Malibu Ken." Emily smirked at him. "You have a definite surfer dude vibe going on with that jeep. Exactly how many times have you seen _Point Break_?"

"Which version?" Charlie flashed a grin at her. "Keanu Reeves is the man."

"I was expecting you to say that. I bet you have _Bill & Ted's Bogus Adventure_ on DVD." Emily clucked her tongue at him. "I knew that I was sensing an entire _Dazed and Confused_ theme with you."

"Wow." Charlie shook his head as Gus opened the door for him. He carried Emily through it. "I cannot believe that you call yourself a California girl. It's _Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey_, Princess, and yeah, I've got it. I also have the original movie, _Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure_, and while I'm at it, _Dazed and Confused_ is a completely different franchise. Keanu Reeves isn't even in it. You must be thinking about someone else."

Rusty and Gus shared a look as they trailed along behind them. Rusty fought the urge to roll his eyes while his boyfriend was stifling the urge to laugh. They were going to have to listen to this all afternoon. It was almost worse than listening to Flynn and Provenza. Emily and Charlie were younger; they could bicker longer. It was going to be a long day.

 **-TBC-**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

It did not take more than an hour after Sharon got home that evening for her children to fold and tell her exactly what had happened that afternoon. Gus was the first one to give in. They had told her that Emily had fallen. She was thankful that Charlie was there and able to handle the situation. She made a note to thank him the next time that she saw him. It had only taken a few well-placed questions and one pointed look on her part for Gus to completely confess. Sharon had already guessed that there was more to that story than they were telling her. Ricky wouldn't look at her and Rusty was too focused on his computer. Within half an hour she had the entire story, from Jack's arrival to Charlie tossing him out the door, and the fact that he was now sporting a set of bruised knuckles.

Sharon was furious with all of them. Not for the argument but the duplicity. She did not need her children to shield her from the bad things in their lives, and certainly not when it involved their father. Sharon left them with their ears ringing from a very long lecture and retreated to her room to cool off. A long soak in the tub had done very little to soothe her nerves. When she finally rejoined them a while later, they were quiet and miserable. Sharon sighed as she stepped into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.

She still wasn't speaking to them. If there was one thing that their mother could do it was give a silent treatment like no one else before her. Ricky looked up from his computer. He hadn't even been there, and somehow he was still in trouble with the rest of them. When Emily looked up from her book, he jerked his head in their mother's direction. He expected her to fix it.

Emily looked into the kitchen. She was putting the kettle on. Her lips pursed in thought. Emily shook her head and lowered her gaze back to her book. She had read the same page twice. If their mom wanted to be upset, she wasn't going to stop her. Emily didn't want to talk to her either. She was only doing what she thought was best. She did not appreciate being lectured like a five-year-old.

Ricky's eyes narrowed. Stubborn. That is what they were. Both of them were the most stubborn people that he had ever met before. Mom was mad at them, and now Emily was mad at her for being mad at them. This could go on all night. He was very familiar with it. Ricky tapped his fingers against the side of his computer. Suddenly he was thirteen again and Emily was mad because she had gotten in trouble for coming in after curfew. The sound of cabinets opening and closing made his ears prick. Ricky twisted on the couch and looked into the kitchen. His mother seemed to be searching for something. He watched as she looked in the pantry twice before opening the cupboards beside it. "What are you looking for?"

Sharon glanced at them but did not say anything. It did not warrant a response. Ricky was fishing, and granted, he was not originally part of the duplicity, but he was not exactly forthcoming either. Sharon said nothing as she continued to search through the kitchen cabinets. Finally she opened the one nearest the stove, where a few other snack items were stored. It was where she put those items that she kept on hand for Andy. Sharon's eyes narrowed as she found what she was looking for. More or less.

Rusty looked up from his computer at the sound of her sigh. It was not a happy sound. His brows climbed into his hairline. He watched her pull the empty potato chip bag off of the back of the cabinet door, where it had been taped. "What is that?" He had a pretty good idea, but thought there might be an explanation for it.

There was a yellow post-it note affixed to the bag. Sharon tore it off. She rolled her neck on her shoulders as she read it. _No nuts, no chips_. Sharon crumpled the note and the bag and tossed them into the trash. "I am going out," she announced, and turned off the stove before leaving the room. It was all that she said to them, and not because she was prepared to let any of them off the hook, but rather it was the polite thing to do.

The three of them shared a look. Rusty elbowed Gus. "What?" His boyfriend rubbed his side. "I told you that I couldn't lie to her!" He didn't feel bad about telling the truth, but he was sorry that they were all in trouble.

"Not that." Rusty nodded his head toward the kitchen. "What did she find?"

"How should I know?" Gus made a face at him. "I was sitting here with you." When Rusty continued to stare at him, Gus rolled his eyes. "Fine." He stood up and walked into the kitchen. He leaned over the trashcan. "It's a note with her chips." He laughed. "I guess the Lieutenant is getting even because she made him get rid of the peanuts." Gus retrieved the note and brought it back over to the sofa. He handed it to Rusty who read it before passing it on to Ricky.

Emily quickly crumpled it in her hand when the note made it to her. She kept it hidden as their mother reappeared. She still said nothing to any of them as she gathered her purse and keys. After she had gone, Emily turned back to the others. "Is he trying to live dangerously?"

Rusty shook his head. He turned his attention back to the essay that he was working on. "They are so married," he muttered. They were fighting over snack food like it was something that people did every day.

While Gus was laughing, Ricky picked up his phone and began to type out a quick text. Emily squinted at him. "What are you doing?"

Ricky grinned. "Sending our new stepdad a text. He has no idea what he started. He might want to hide his nuts."

"Ouch." Emily grabbed her side, groaning as she laughed. "That is so many levels of wrong. Ricky!"

"Oh no." Rusty snorted. "He knows. Believe me. You two have been spared but I am the one trapped in all of this. It's like foreplay for old people." He looked up at them again. "What I want to know is if we are, like, totally taking sides in this? Is that even a thing?"

"Who are we supposed to root for?" Gus looked from one to the other until his gaze had swept all three of them. "Your mom or the Lieutenant?"

The three of them grew silent while they thought about it. There were looks exchanged but it was Emily that picked up her phone. "I'll tell Nicole to plan for a Christmas wedding."

"Just tell your boyfriend to stay away from the dye packs," Rusty teased. "She will be mad if he messes up her color scheme."

"Oh ha-ha!" Emily rolled her eyes at him. "Baby brother thinks that he is so funny." When the others laughed along with him, Emily glared at them. "I am not kidding. That isn't funny!" She threw her book at Ricky when he snorted. "Stop it!" He was not her boyfriend. They had barely exchanged more than a few words. Emily just thought that he was cute, a fact that she expressed whenever possible, but particularly in front of Rusty.

"Hey!" Ricky caught it. "Don't get mad at us. You're the one making mooneyes at mom's employees. We are just enjoying the show. It's pretty ridiculous, Emily. He's way too old for you."

"He isn't that old." She slumped in her chair and sulked. When they continued to laugh, she pulled herself up on her crutches. "I am going to bed. I don't have to take this abuse." She had no intention of dating anyone, and if she did, there were a couple of nice guys back in New York that could satisfy that urge. All she had to do was call one of them. She just happened to like the look of this one. She wondered what they would do when she told them that she thought their mom's guy was good looking too? She could also say that the security guard that worked the dayshift in the lobby downstairs had prettiest blue eyes, or that her physical therapist was kind of hot. She was their sister, that didn't mean that she was blind! Emily made a mental note to use any one of those things to get even. Or perhaps she would just step up her little _crush_ and see how Rusty Beck liked those apples. Whatever she decided to do, it would have to wait until the following day. She was much too exhausted at the moment. The day had completely taken its toll on her. She was going to take her medication and with any luck, she would sleep until morning.

"I'm out of here," Gus decided. "We've had more fun for one day than I can stand." He stood up and gathered his jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned over and kissed Rusty before making his way toward the door. "Later, Ricky."

"Bye." Ricky waited until he was gone before he closed his computer and put it aside. "So," he started. "He seems nice…"

Rusty groaned. His head fell back against the sofa cushions. He should have known this would be coming at some point. He had gone from not having any family or friends just a few years ago to having more people who wanted to know what was going on his life than he could even keep count of. His siblings were among the nosiest. Rusty was glad to have all of these people in his life, but the truth was… Ricky was worse than Provenza. He would not stop until every question was answered satisfactorily. It was definitely going to be a long night.

 **MCMCMCMCMCMC**

Andy was seated on his sofa, feet resting on his coffee table and half dozing when a knock at his door pulled him out of it. The television remote had fallen onto the cushion beside him. He turned off the movie that had successfully put him to sleep and scrubbed a hand over his face before getting up. He was surprised to find Sharon standing on the other side of the door. She had called to cancel their dinner plans earlier with the explanation that Emily had fallen and she didn't want to leave her for the evening. He doubted that he would even see her the following day, he expected her to take some time off to make sure that her daughter was okay. Andy studied her closely. Her hair was pulled back. The sweater that she was wearing seemed too big on her small frame. It was the misery in her eyes that disturbed him, though. Andy stepped back and pulled the door open. "What happened?"

Sharon said nothing as she passed him. She walked over and took a seat on his sofa. She pulled one of the throw pillows into her lap and hugged it. She leaned her head back with a sigh and closed her eyes. "Jack."

Andy frowned as he walked over to join her. He sat close but angled his body so that it was turned toward her. "What did he do?" He could already feel his frustration rising. His temper was not far behind.

Her eyes blinked open. Sharon stared at his ceiling. She rolled her head toward him. His ears were turning red. Even in the dim lighting from the lamp on the table beside his sofa she could see the effect that just that name had on his mood. "Do you promise that you will not get mad?" The last thing that she needed was his blood pressure going too high, but at the same time, hers was rather elevated at the moment too.

His brows rose. Nothing good ever came from anyone beginning a conversation with those words. Andy was even more worried when it came from Sharon. He rubbed his top lip while he thought about it. That meant that whatever she was about to say was going to well and truly piss him off. He couldn't promise that it wouldn't and she already knew that. Andy sighed. "I'll do my best," he told her.

When she considered how very angry that she was, Sharon knew that was all that she could really ask of him. She drew a breath and let it out slowly. Then she recounted, in full detail, the events of the afternoon. She spared no part of it, and her voice remained low and emotionless as she told him of Charlie's actions and the duplicity of her children that had followed.

After she had finished, Andy turned on the sofa. He leaned back beside her. His head dropped back and he sighed. He stared at the ceiling above them. "Dammit." He had worried about that from the moment that he found Jack still half-drunk in his car that morning. The only difference was that he hadn't kept that knowledge from Sharon. She had known about it. She had known that Jack continued to drink. He had shown up at the hospital with a hangover more than once, and then he had stopped coming altogether. She, of all people, was not blind to that man's shortcomings. "They think that they are protecting you."

"Hm." Sharon said nothing. She did not need, nor did she expect, to be protected by her children. It was meant to be the other way around. She certainly did not expect them to offer themselves up as a shield for her from their father. Not when she was as much to blame for his continued lack of caring in how his actions affected them as he was.

His head rolled toward her. She was still staring at the ceiling. There were new lines around her eyes and mouth. The past two weeks had taken a lot out of her, but she was made of stronger stuff than the kids were giving her credit for. "Give them a break," he told her, "they just don't want to put you in the middle. You kept them out of it all those years. They're only doing what you taught them. They're good kids."

"Yes." Sharon was slow to return his gaze, but she did. Her smile was tired and just a little sad. "I know. I cannot completely fault them for that. I only wish that they did not think that they have to lie to me in the process. Emily did not even want to tell me that she had fallen. She tried to convince the boys to keep that from me too. Rusty was just not willing to go that far, thankfully. They would be dealing with a lot more than a few hours of silent treatment if they had actually done that."

"I wouldn't blame you if they were." Andy reached over and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "Mainly I'm just pissed that Charlie decked Jack…" When her brow rose in disbelief Andy grinned. "And that I wasn't there to see it. I've been wanting to do that for years."

"I cannot condone the violence," she told him. "I expect you to talk to him about that." When his bottom lip jutted out Sharon lifted her head. "Andy, I am serious. I am not going to have any of them fighting and certainly not with Jack. If he decides to press charges there is very little that we can do to circumvent it. Charlie could be in very serious trouble." She didn't believe that Jack would do that, however. The kids were right about that much. Jack would have to admit that he had come in to her home drunk and acting a fool. He wasn't going to do that. He would nurse his bruised pride and bide his time. Jack had other ways of getting even and they were usually just as ridiculous as the event that had created the need.

"I'll talk to him." He sighed. Andy shook his head as he stood from the sofa. "I'll pull Charlie aside and make sure that he knows that was a bad move on his part. If he gives me any lip, I'll tell his mother. If that doesn't work, I'll turn you loose on him."

Her lips pursed. Sharon rolled her eyes toward his retreating back. She watched him walk into the kitchen. "How is it that you think that I am going to be more effective than his own mother would be?"

"Because you're you." Andy tossed a crooked grin at her. He retrieved two bottles of water from the fridge and turned off the light that he had left burning earlier. Sharon was glaring at him when he returned but it lacked a lot of heat. Andy reclaimed his position beside her. This time his shoulder nudged hers when he settled back against the cushions. He dropped another item that he had retrieved from the kitchen onto her lap. "You have a way of making people do what you want them to do, Sharon. Especially when you're not exactly happy with them."

She looked down at the bag of potato chips. Her lips twitched toward a small smile. The noise of the bag seemed incredibly loud in the otherwise quiet room as she opened it. "Speaking of not being especially happy with some people…" She reached into the bag and pulled out a single potato chip. She studied it before putting it in her mouth. Her brow arched and she cast a pointed look at him. He was not off the hook yet.

"Consider it a warning," he told her. "It's only fair. You're not that far behind me, sweetheart. If I can't have the salt, neither can you. No nuts, no chips." He at least could tell that she had a terrible day and knew when to give a little.

"Mmhm." Sharon hummed as she drew her legs up onto the sofa. She leaned sideways and rested her head against his shoulder. She held the bag of chips in one hand. She curled her other arm through his and settled against his side. "I will think about," she decided. The art of compromise was not lost on her. Perhaps she would be willing to allow him to have just a little bit of leeway in some areas. "Would you think that I was terrible if I said that I wanted to stay here tonight?"

The question was so quiet that he almost couldn't hear it. Andy turned his head and pressed his lips against the top of her head. "Nope." He wrapped his hand around hers and frowned at the coolness of her skin beneath his touch. "You need a break," he told her. "But we both know that you won't." She wouldn't leave Emily alone, especially not after that fall. She had her brothers, and she might not have needed more than a couple of bandages on the reopened incision, but Sharon would never really consider spending the night away from her.

"I miss you," she whispered. She saw him all day, but it wasn't quite the same thing. The condo was just too crowded for him to do more than have dinner with them on a couple of occasions. Emily had taken over Rusty's room and both of her sons were camping out in the living room. It would just be entirely too awkward for all of them to have her partner spending the night, even if all she wanted was for him to hold her for a few hours.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Me too." It begged the question of how they were going to move this thing forward when neither of their places was big enough to accommodate all of their children. That was a conversation that they had only just started to dance around. Neither of them was really prepared to delve into it just yet, and with everything that Sharon was dealing with, Andy didn't want to add to it.

When his arm lifted to wrap around her, she wriggled closer. Sharon drew her bent knees up and rested them against his leg. She tucked herself into the crook of his arm and toed her shoes off. She turned her face into his neck and inhaled deeply. Her lips curved into a smile against his skin. "I should go," she said quietly.

"You should stay," he told her. She hadn't bothered to do more than get closer. His hand moved into her hair. His fingers were gentle as they rubbed her scalp.

"Hm." Her eyes closed. She left the chips laying on the cushion beside her and tucked her arms between their bodies. Her fingers curled into his shirt. "Maybe just for a little while," she decided.

"Yeah." He dislodged her clip and her hair tumbled around his hand. Andy combed his fingers through the thick curtain of it. "That will work." The kids were pitching in where they could, and doing a decent job of it, but he knew that she still wasn't sleeping that well. She wouldn't be able to until Emily was fully mended and back on her feet. She needed a break. If all they could manage was an hour or two, it would just have to be enough. Andy stretched his legs out in front of him and rested his feet against the coffee table. As he got more comfortable, so did she. It wasn't that late. Maybe they would just rest right there and take a little nap. Afterward he would send her home. For now, she was all his, and he wasn't letting go.

 **MCMCMCMCMCMC**

When Sharon returned home a few hours later it was to find both of her sons still awake with a movie playing quietly in the living room. A lamp had been left on near the entry, lighting her way to the hall. Sharon slipped off her shoes and put away her purse before making the turn to go down the hall. "Goodnight Ricky. Rusty."

"Goodnight mom." They had both lifted their heads. They looked at one another before turning their attention back to the movie. It was simple enough, but the meaning was clear. They were off the hook, their punishment had ended and she was speaking to them again. They both breathed a quiet sigh of relief before settling in for the night.

Sharon moved silently down the hall. She intended to change before peeking in on Emily. She had not intended to stay at Andy's as long as she had, but then they had gotten comfortable and she did not want to move. They had ended up turning on a movie, nothing that either of them actually paid any attention to. Sharon had lain down with her head in his lap, dozing while his fingers combed through her hair and some campy film noir mystery played quietly. She hadn't actually slept, and neither had he, but she left his house feeling far more rested and relaxed than she had in a very long time. A quiet night of no expectation of anything but simply _being_ was exactly what she had needed. Andy had known that. He always seemed to know. Sometimes before she even recognized it herself.

She was still thinking about that when she stepped into her bedroom. The soft smile that had curved her lips melted into a look of concern. The lamp beside the bed had been left on, and the light dimmed to its lowest setting. That was not what had drawn her attention, however. It was the person that was _in_ her bed. Emily was curled around a pillow in the center of the bed with the soft throw blanket that Sharon kept at the foot of her bed covering her legs. Sharon deposited her shoes beside the closet and walked quietly into the room. She stood beside the bed for a moment, a sigh on her lips as she gazed at her daughter. Emily was pale and thin, and although her bruises were fading, they still stood out in painful contrast to her usual complexion.

After only another moment of standing there, Sharon eased onto the bed beside her daughter. Emily had always done this when she didn't feel well. She would climb into her bed either before Sharon was home or after, and it didn't matter if she was sick, hurt, or just feeling guilty because she was in trouble... Emily would find her way into that bed and the result was always the same, Sharon's heart would melt and she would forget why she was upset to begin with. She would forget that she was tired and wanted only to get a good night's sleep. She would forget everything but the slight girl laying beside her and nothing else would be more important than seeing her smile again.

Sharon slipped close and carefully draped her arm around Emily's waist. When her daughter sighed and pressed closer, a smile curved her lips. "You should be in your own bed," she murmured quietly.

"With my view of the Manhattan skyline," Emily whispered. "I think you mean Rusty's bed." Her eyes blinked open. Emily had napped a bit, but her mind hadn't allowed her to truly fall asleep just yet. She rolled on to her back and looked up at her mother. "I was waiting for you," she said. "I'm sorry."

"I know." Sharon lay with her head propped in her hand. She reached up and pushed a stray lock of hair away from Emily's brow before drawing her finger down the bridge of her nose. "You should know better," she said simply, and tapped the tip of her daughter's nose. "We do not hide things from each other in this family, Emily, especially where it concerns your health. That includes secrets about your father."

"I thought that you wanted to be Switzerland?" Emily gave her an honestly earnest look. "You're divorced now. Does it really matter?"

"When it hurts you it does." Sharon sighed. "Emily, he was my husband long before he was your father. I am not blind to his faults. Far from it. If anyone is familiar with Jack Raydor's failings, it's me. I know what he is capable of and I know what he is like, especially when he is inebriated. More importantly, I know what he will do when he is angry at the world. These are not things that I want you to have to deal with." She looked away for a moment. Sharon closed her eyes before continuing. "I know that the time for shielding you from them has passed. I would simply rather you not lie to me about it. Particularly when it happens in my house."

"I just didn't want you to have to worry about me anymore." Emily reached up and touched the line that seemed to be permanently etched between her mother's brows. "You're spending too much time concerned about what is happening to me. You don't have to do that, Mom. I am okay. I promise. I am a big girl now."

"Maybe." Sharon took her hand and kissed it, and then she lay down beside her. "But you will always be my baby. Nothing will ever stop me from worrying about you. I know that it is bothersome when all you want to be is an adult responsible for your own life, but it is what it is." Emily rolled toward her and they lay with their heads close together. "I will always hurt when you hurt. I will worry when you are sick. I will be frightened when you are injured. This isn't something that stops when your child turns eighteen or leaves home. Someday, if you choose to be a mother, you might understand it, because unfortunately I cannot explain it any better than that."

"I know." Emily was already well aware of the fact that she could tell her mother not to worry and it wouldn't alter anything. She felt better for having said it, however. "If," she agreed with a smile. "Maybe." Emily's eyes sparkled in the dim lighting of the room. "In twenty years, perhaps, when you are old enough to be a grandmother."

"Bless you." She chuckled quietly. Sharon combed her fingers through Emily's hair. "What else is bothering you, little bug?" She still sensed that her daughter was bothered by something.

Her lips pursed. She hummed. Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I was just thinking about dad." She lifted her eyes to her mother. The sparkle faded away as sadness replaced it. "Did he ever love us? Did he ever love you?"

"Yes he did." Of that Sharon had no doubt. She questioned it in the early days, just after her marriage began to crumble, but she could look back on it now and see things more clearly. "Your father has always loved you, Emily, and your brother. The problem is that he has never been very good at admitting defeat or accepting his failures. He would rather run, and he would rather make you hate him, than look at you and realize all of the pain that he has inflicted. Just like he did with me." Sharon shook her head. "Jack loved me. I think that he still does. I just realized one day that I could not live my life waiting for something that was never going to happen."

Emily's brows drew together in a frown. "What was that?"

Sharon smiled sadly. "To grow old with the man I love and raise fat, happy grandbabies together."

The hitch in her voice made Emily's eyes tear up. She slid closer and wrapped her arms around her mother. "I think that is definitely going to happen," she whispered. "Just not with the man you thought it would."

"Maybe," Sharon agreed. "If." A smile tugged at her lips. "Someday, perhaps, when we are ready to admit that he has already made me a grandmother."

Emily watched her cheeks color and smiled brightly. "You really love him, don't you?"

"I really do," she said. "But it is as complicated as it is simple. I know that does not make any sense at all, but..." Sharon sighed. "Neither of us is in any hurry, and that is because we both failed the last time." It was the most honest that she had been with anyone, other than Andy, about that relationship. Sharon held her daughter close. "There is a question on his mind. He will ask it when he is ready."

Emily lifted her head and propped it in her hand. She studied her mother closely. "What will you say?"

"The only thing that I can." Sharon smiled up at her. She drew Emily back down and cuddled her close. "I will say yes, and we will go from there." She drew a breath and let it out slowly. It was the first time that she had admitted that, even to herself.

"Hm." Emily curled up beside her mother so that she was laying with her head against her shoulder. "Good." She had decided that she liked him, and she liked how well he took care of her mother. They all did. "We already decided that we are keeping him, so it's good that you're on board. Otherwise the family holidays could get incredibly awkward."

"Well, we simply cannot allow that to happen." Sharon closed her eyes. "Go to sleep, Emily. We can talk more tomorrow."

"Yes." She was quiet for a moment. "Mom… do you think that I will dance again?"

Her voice was so small and so uncertain that Sharon ached for her. She pressed her lips against Emily's forehead. "Yes," she whispered. "I think that you will." Her daughter was determined enough, so she believed that it would happen.

"Promise?" Emily looked up at her, eyes wide and moist in the dim room.

"I do." Sharon tapped her nose again. "It may not be the way that it was before, Emily, but I believe that you will dance again. You will still love it, however it happens."

Emily drew a slow, shaky breath. She let it out slowly before nodding. "Okay," was all she said. Now that she felt better about things, Emily was finding that she had a hard time keeping her eyes open. "I love you."

"I love you too, my girl. Now sleep." Sharon continued to comb her fingers through Emily's hair until she felt her relax completely. She found sleep a little harder to achieve for herself. When finally she was able to drift off, it was with Emily's questions about Andy still echoing through her mind.

 **-TBC-**


	10. Chapter 10

**Wrecked**

 **By Kadi**  
 **Rated T**

 **Disclaimer:** This is not my sandbox, simply one that I enjoy playing in.

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

The water was cool against her skin. Emily watched it swirling around her legs as she kicked them through it. She was seated on the edge of the pool, enjoying the sun and listening to the sound of voices and laughter behind her. When she lifted her legs, Emily frowned at them. Her left was definitely much lighter than the right, a result of having spent so many weeks wrapped in a cast. Her nose wrinkled as her gaze moved to the other leg. There was an ugly pink line down one side of it. When she considered the alternative, a couple of discolored legs were the least of her worries. That didn't mean that her vanity agreed.

Emily had been out of the cast for almost a month now. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to even out the golden hue of her skin. She had tanned in the Southern California sunlight, something that she enjoyed, but her poor, cast encased leg was sadly devoid of any color. She supposed she would have to give in to her own arrogance and make an appointment at the salon for a spray tan. For now, Emily was just going to enjoy the feel of the water against her skin.

Movement beside her drew Emily's attention. She squinted behind her sunglasses when she looked up. Her nose wrinkled again, for an entirely new reason. "Haven't you picked on me enough for one week?"

"Never." Charlie kicked out of his flip-flops and lowered himself onto the edge of the pool beside her. He dropped his feet into the water with a splash and grinned when the water splattered up onto her thighs. "The party is over there," he nodded his head toward where the others were gathered. "What are you doing sulking over here?"

"I am not sulking." Emily returned her gaze to the water. "I'm just thinking." She ignored the fact that he was right. It was a party, and she didn't mind celebrating, but her mind was full and she had just needed a moment to herself.

"About?" Charlie nudged her shoulder with his. "Come on, Princess. It's not every day that our parents buy a house and decide to shack up together. What's got you so wound up that you can't at least pretend to be happy for them? I thought you said that you like the old man?" Charlie tipped his sunglasses up onto his head and frowned at her. "It's a little late for you to decide that you're against all of this, isn't it?"

"No." Emily shook her head. "That isn't what I am thinking about at all." A frown drew her brows together. "I am happy for them. I'm thrilled, actually. I knew that it was only a matter of time before this happened. To be honest, if they hadn't been forced to juggle so much time back and forth between two homes while the condo was so crowded, I think it probably would have taken until next spring for them to make this decision." Emily smiled as she thought about it. It was a bright and sunny day. The weather was mild for late summer.

The gathering that was going on behind them was a small house warming party. They had only invited family and close friends. Emily knew that they were celebrating the fact that the last box was finally unpacked. There was still much to do. Her mother and Andy were still sleeping in one of the guest rooms while the master bedroom was being remodeled. Neither of them had liked the color, so they had decided to change it, and make the closet bigger while they were at it. The house was a rambling structure with three bedrooms. They had almost passed on it because of the size of the yard and the pool. Neither her mother nor Andy really wanted the upkeep, but when they had considered the size of the family that they were combining, and the gatherings that could be held on the patio and around the pool, they had decided that it was perfect.

An extra selling point had come in the size of the basement. The house was only one level, with the sub-level basement, but it stretched almost the length of the entire house. The previous owners had built an apartment into it with a separate exit behind the garage. Their housekeeper had lived there, but Sharon and Andy had no need of that. It was, however, perfect for Rusty. He could come and go as independently as he liked, but with the knowledge that he was not yet on his own. This was something that he, and their mother, liked very much. It had also freed up another bedroom so that Emily could occupy it while her stay in Los Angeles was prolonged.

She had spent the last few months moving between physical therapy and doctor's appointments. Even before the cast was off she was dancing again. She couldn't delve right in and pick up where she had left off, but she started going to a few classes a week. When she wasn't in class, Emily was dancing in her room. It was much harder than she imagined it would be. Her upper body simply did not want to move in quite the same way that it had before. It was going to take work. In the meantime, Emily had gone back to New York for a week. She had things that needed to be taken care of, and while she was there, she had met with her company director. It was that meeting that had her mind so full. She had promised her mother that she would be home in time for the house warming party, and she was, but she was finding it hard to truly enjoy it.

"Okay," Charlie had watched her smile fade. The line was back between her brows. He frowned at her. "If you're so damned happy, then why do you look like someone kicked your puppy? You know that your mom is all worried about you, right? She's been looking over here every couple of minutes since you separated yourself from the rest of us. Spill it, Princess. What's got your tights all in a wad?"

Emily rolled her eyes at him. "You are truly annoying, I hope that you realize that." She sighed again. "My trip to New York wasn't as wonderful as I hoped it would be." She tipped her shades into her hair and looked over at him. "I haven't told my mother yet. She has been so wrapped up in the new house and getting ready for all of this…" Emily waved her hand in the direction of the party, "I didn't want to spoil her good mood." Emily kicked her legs in the water again. "My contract isn't being renewed. They said that I could come back next season and we would _re-evaluate_ things."

Charlie winced. He turned his gaze back to the pool. Like Emily he was kicking his legs slowly through the water. He watched it swirl around his legs. He didn't know what that meant, exactly, but he had a pretty good idea. It meant that she lost her job. She wasn't going to be dancing with her company, and he felt bad for her… but oddly, he didn't feel _too bad_ about it. "So," he began carefully, "what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." That was the crux of it all. Emily hadn't decided that yet. For the last several years her life had been in New York. Now that she was home again, she was beginning to discover just how much she missed being near her family. She missed the beach and the sunshine, and all of the glitz of the Los Angeles nightlife. But then she thought about New York. She liked the museums and the galleries, the theaters and the shows. She had friends there too. She thought about her apartment and how happy and comfortable she had been there. As much as she loved the sunshine of Southern California, she also liked the seasons of New York. She enjoyed watching the leaves turn in the fall, and there was nothing quite like the first snowfall in winter. "I am going to keep dancing," she said. "I just don't know what that means yet."

"I'm sorry," Charlie said, and meant it. Being a paramedic wasn't easy. It could be hard and painful, but he couldn't imagine doing anything else. He was even thinking about going back to school, to train to be a flight medic. Some people just had a calling, whether it was dancing or police work, or some other form of service or profession; it was what they were meant to do. It made them happy. "You know," he ventured thoughtfully, "your mom wouldn't mind if you stuck around here for a while. There's no rush to go back to New York."

"Believe me," Emily laughed but there was little joy in the sound. "I know. She has been telling me for years that I would have better success dancing in Los Angeles. She is probably right, but I always felt like New York was my place. Now I'm just not so sure." Emily shrugged. "I was happy there. I don't think that would change. I still have my degree. I can work in a museum or an art gallery. I did that when I first moved to the city, while I was waiting for my career to take off. Once I was dancing more regularly, I was able to stop. I could do that again." Her lips pursed in thought. "Of course, I could do that here too. When I first moved to New York," she continued, "I felt like I had been living on my own for so long that the distance didn't matter. You know? This is the first time that I have been home for more than a week or two since my sophomore year at Northwestern. There was always some reason to spend the summer doing other things. I was studying abroad or traveling with my girlfriends. All I ever wanted to do was dance for the American Ballet Theater, and after I earned my Masters, moving to New York just seemed like the next logical step."

"Just because they didn't renew your contract this season," Charlie pointed out, "doesn't mean that they won't. Like they said, you can go back next season." He nudged her shoulder again. "Or you could stay, if that is what you're thinking about doing. You miss it don't you?"

"I didn't realize how disconnected I felt until I was here." Emily looked over at him. "Is that selfish? I'm not really thinking about what this will mean for anyone else. I feel like everything is happening without me. I talk to my mom all the time, we skype every week. I talk to my brothers, and Ricky visits whenever he can. I know everything that is happening here, but I haven't really been part of it." Emily shook her head. "When mom adopted Rusty, I was okay with it. He seemed nice, and he made her happy. Now I realize that I never even bothered to get to know my little brother. Then mom started dating, and I wasn't sure what to think about it. Andy seemed nice too, but I didn't know him. Now that I have gotten to know him, I can understand why she loves him. I want them to be happy. I want Ricky to stop worrying that he's going to turn out like our dad and just… live." While she had spoken her eyes had grown moist with tears. Emily looked down while she chewed on her bottom lip and tried to blink them away. "I don't know what I'm saying. I just want to dance."

"So stay." Charlie thought it sounded pretty damned simple to him. Her mind was already made up; she just hadn't realized it yet. "You can get a job here. Go to work and keep dancing. Be part of your family and do all of those things." He grinned crookedly at her. "You can help Nicole plan the inevitable wedding. She's already looking at venues, and if I were dad, I'd grab your mom and hit up a judge before she gets too far into it." He grinned when she laughed. "You think I'm joking, but remind me to show you the pictures from her wedding." Charlie drew one of his legs out of the water. He bent his knee and rested his foot on the edge of the pool. He leaned against it while he considered her options. "When you're strong enough to go back to New York, do it. Get your contract back, or just find a company to dance for out here. There's no reason that you can't stay here while you finish getting stronger, Princess. Just because you were living in New York a few months ago doesn't mean that you can't change your mind. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be closer to the family."

"Hm." A soft smile curved her lips. Emily looked out across the yard. "I thought that you might understand." She watched Nicole's stepsons run to the back fence before racing back toward the patio where the adults were gathered. "I honestly cannot believe that I am about to say this, but I think you might be right."

Charlie grabbed his chest and leaned away from her. "No!" He gasped. "I don't believe it. An actual admission of admiration from her highness."

"Oh shut up." Emily rolled her eyes at him. "Don't let it go to your head, jerkface." She drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "It won't be hard to find someone to sublet my apartment. I can do that until spring. When the new season starts, I can… re-evaluate my choices."

"Great." He kicked his other leg in the water causing it to splash her again. "So what about that dating situation?" His brow arched. "If you're going to be sticking around, maybe you and the camera nerd can finally stop making heart eyes at each other and do something about it." His lip curled in disgust. "It's really becoming a problem."

Emily blinked at him a couple of times. Then she snorted a laugh. She leaned forward, an arm wrapped around her middle as she giggled. "Oh my god, you are as bad as Rusty!" Her eyes lit up with amusement. She smiled deviously at him. "There have been no heart eyes. At least, none that were real. We've been screwing with everyone. Mostly Rusty, because mom is right, and he is just so easy. You see, it was Rusty who asked Buzz to replace my phone and transfer everything over to the new one. When he asked Lieutenant Tao and Detective Sanchez to help him," Emily explained, "they completely jumped to the wrong conclusion. So I may have been helping him get a little even with them as a way of thanking him… for helping me out, but mostly because he has been so great with Rusty. On the upside," she laughed again, "messing with Rusty is just too much _fun_. In his head, the fact that he is dating is one thing, but any of the _older people_ in his life that are doing it is just too weird for him to think about."

He made a face at her. "You are devious and somewhat demented," Charlie decided.

"You're slow on the uptake," she fired back. "I cannot believe that you didn't figure it out. Or at least ask before now. Mom did. Then she told us to have fun." Emily's eyes were still sparkling. Her mother had taken a great deal of vicarious enjoyment out of watching the others squirm. "Even if there were _heart eyes_ , which there are most definitely _not_ , I am honestly not in a place to date anyone right now. My entire life is up in the air. I wouldn't make a very good girlfriend, especially when I may be leaving again in several months. All of that aside, he is very nice, but he works for my mother. It would just be too awkward…. And I promised Rusty that I wouldn't date any of his friends. It's a thing."

Charlie's lips pursed. He nodded slowly. "Good." When she cast a surprised look at him, he shrugged. "Well, all that would make you feel bad and then I would have to break his pretty face. It's a thing."

"You are a Neanderthal," she decided. "You do understand that fighting isn't the answer, right?"

"Yeah, sure, you-betcha." He smirked at her. Charlie drew himself up and stood. "You ready to stop sulking now and rejoin the others?"

Emily let her shades fall back down to cover her eyes. She looked up at him with a scowl. "I was never sulking. I was considering very serious life matters."

"In the middle of our parents' house warming party. I call that sulking." Charlie reached down and offered her his hand. "Come on, they're about to finally feed us." His dad had been manning the grill for most of the afternoon, or rather, standing beside it and arguing with his partner about whether or not he was going to burn the meat. Charlie was more worried that the two old guys would end up arguing for so long that they would both burn it. "If you're nice, I'll leave you some."

Emily let him pull her up. She elbowed him as she walked past. "Does the phrase _Ladies first_ mean absolutely nothing to you?"

"Oh, it does." Charlie grinned as he followed her. He caught up easily with his longer stride and dropped an arm around her shoulders. "Good thing you're not a lady." His grin only grew wider when she glared at him. Behind his sunglasses his dark eyes were sparkling. "You're nothin' but a sister."

Emily shoved him away from her. Of all of the pop cultural references that he could have made in that moment, he had chosen to go with Disney. There were times when she really could not believe that she knew him. Oddly enough, when she thought back to a few months before, she couldn't stand the fact that she had to deal with him at all. Then things had changed. He had saved her life. Something had shifted between them, and for whatever reason, they realized that they were stuck with one another. Now she had to admit, somewhat grudgingly, that since she had been back in Los Angeles, that obnoxious pain in her backside was actually her best friend. More importantly, she had come to discover that she had another brother.

Charlie was there the night that she almost died. He was there when she remembered opening her eyes for the first time. He had sat through several physical therapy appointments with her. When she didn't think that she could take anymore, he poked and prodded and made her angry enough that she kept going. The day she found out that her dad was really someone that could not be counted on, he was someone to lean on. When Ricky had to eventually go back to Palo Alto, Charlie was around to pitch in. He had ended up selling the Mustang that he and his dad had rebuilt to Rusty, and for barely enough to cover the cost of the restoration. They were working on another one now, although for the life of her she would never be able to recall the make and model of the car, but Emily had figured out very quickly that it had nothing to do with the cars themselves. She envied him that relationship sometimes. But as her mother and Nicole were quick to point out, those two men had worked very hard to be able to have a relationship at all.

It wasn't just about her, or her family either. He took his nephews to dance class when their parents couldn't manage it. He mowed his sister's lawn on weekends, and he babysat so that she and her husband could have time away to themselves. He ran errands for his mother and when his stepdad's car had broken down, Charlie had looked at it first, before allowing him to take it in to a shop to be fixed. He switched shifts with the guys that he worked with whenever he could so that they could spend time with their families, and she knew that he and Ricky, and Nicole's husband Dean were planning a camping trip. They insisted it was for the boys, but everyone knew that it was all about the big kids.

 _It's a thing_. He said. Yes, she understood that quite well. He was the oldest. It was his job to look out for them, just as she had always looked out for Ricky, and now she was looking out for Rusty. Emily understood now why he was so hard to deal with when they first met. He didn't want to like them. He didn't want to like her mother. He didn't want to see his father get hurt. There was a part of him that feared he would lose what they had achieved, if somehow he lost his dad to his addiction again. It may not happen. Emily did not think that it would, but she understood his concern. It was a thought that was always in the back of her mind too, every time that her father was able to stay sober for any length of time, although, in her case, Jack always managed to backslide somehow. So while she did not think that it was truly warranted for Charlie, she understood. So did Ricky, and so did Rusty. They all got it.

The only thing that their parents had asked of them was to be civil. They had removed themselves from the equation and remained neutral. What they had expected was for their children to be the adults that they wanted to be seen as and to handle their relationships accordingly. They didn't always get along very well, but they were all managing a lot more than just a _civil_ acquaintance. At some point along the way, they had all realized that they wanted the same thing. A normal family.

That was never going to happen. They were never going to be normal, and that was something that they could agree on. They could also agree that they wanted their parents to be happy, and no one on either side wanted to be the reason that they weren't.

It was as her mother had said a few months before. When she was a girl her dream had been to grow old with the man that she loved. She wanted to raise their grandchildren, and just be happy together. Emily looked toward where her mother stood, laughing with the man that she was making a life with now. She smiled as Nicole's stepsons dodged around them, chasing one another. She laughed when Andy yelled after them to slow down and her mother poked his side. Emily couldn't hear her, but she knew that her mother was telling him to leave them be, to just let them play. The dream was not lost so much as it was changed.

Emily knew that she would have to accept that about her own life. She would dance again. It may not be for the same dance company and it may not be in New York, but she would dance. That was the dream. It was all that she really wanted. The shape that it took was not truly important, she would fold it around her however she could. Just as her mother had promised that she would.

Until then she would keep working on getting stronger. She would go to class, and she would practice. She would find a job and consider whether or not she wanted to stay with her mother until she returned to New York. She would keep Charlie and Ricky from picking on Rusty too much, and she would warn her mother about that judge idea that Charlie had planted in her head.

If the accident had taught Emily anything it was that life was a balancing act. The scales could tip too easily from one side to the other. Nothing was certain, and nothing was written in stone. She still ached to have a meaningful relationship with her father. She ached to perform in front of a packed crowd again. She longed for her life to be stable again, even if it couldn't be _sure_. There was none of that, however, that was out of her reach. As long as she was still alive, there was nothing so wrecked that it couldn't be pieced back together again. It may just look a little differently than it had before.

 **-END-**


End file.
